Tehran.- Iran stated this Sunday that there has been progress in talks with Oman regarding the management of the Strait of Hormuz, amidst tension with the United States following the breakdown of the truce and as the Iranian Parliament studies a law to strengthen control over that strategic maritime passage.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei reported that deputy foreign ministers from Iran and Oman held several rounds of talks on Friday and Saturday in Tehran to address “common principles and operational mechanisms for managing the safe transit of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, while respecting the sovereign rights of the two littoral states.”
“The conversations were useful and progress was made,” stated Baghaei, who added that the Omani delegation left Tehran on Saturday afternoon, although technical and political consultations between both countries continue.
The spokesperson also assured that there has been no change in the status of maritime traffic through the strait.
The two countries share control of the waters of the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic maritime passage that connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and through which approximately one-fifth of the oil traded by sea in the world transited before the start of the war between the United States and Iran on February 28.
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Mechanisms to regulate navigation
The conversations are taking place as both countries seek mechanisms to regulate navigation following the restrictions imposed by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard on maritime traffic in the area.
At the end of June, Oman, with the backing of the United States, launched a temporary, fee-exempt maritime corridor to facilitate transit through the strait.
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Iran responded by attacking vessels using that route, which led Washington to intensify its bombings on Iranian territory.
Amid the escalation, Tehran declared the Strait of Hormuz closed again on July 5, and the United States reinstated the naval blockade on Iranian ports and vessels in the area, a measure that had been suspended following the memorandum of understanding reached by both parties in mid-June.
