Tehran: Iran said on Sunday that it was nearing a deal with Oman over a new route through the Strait of Hormuz, hours after the US called off major strikes to allow for diplomacy.
Negotiations between Iran and Oman over the Strait of Hormuz are in their final stages, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said, according to IRNA, after the US said it had called off an attack on Iran to give room for diplomacy.
In a post on Telegram, Araghchi said that in a report he presented to the cabinet, he described the negotiations between Tehran and Muscat as “on the way to being finalised”.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei says that the Strait of Hormuz will “never return to the pre-war situation”, Iran’s Fars news outlet reports.
Before the war, there was free passage for all vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, but Iran closed the strait during the war and now insists on retaining control and charging tolls, something the US rejects.
That dispute sparked the return to strikes last month, as Tehran refused to let ships travel any route other than one which hugs the Iranian coast.
On Sunday, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told state television that a deal was close with Oman, which sits on the other side of the strait, over a new route through it."We are now going to reach an understanding on a route acceptable to both sides -- neither the northern route nor the southern route -- but one that respects the sovereign rights of both sides and safeguards our national interests and security," he said.
He insisted, though, that such an agreement did not mean the reopening of the strait.
Maritime trade tracking firm Kpler said Friday that traffic through Hormuz had dropped sharply.
On Sunday, a tanker off the coast of Oman reported hearing an explosion near the vessel, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre reported, adding that the vessel and crew were all safe.
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