Iran's Revolutionary Guard said on Saturday that re-opening the Strait of Hormuz is not related to Iran-Oman negotiations but is conditional on the U.S. accepting Iran's conditions.
A U.S. official on Friday reported progress between Iran and Oman that could soon reopen the Strait of Hormuz, potentially restoring oil exports that have been disrupted by the five-month-old U.S. war with Iran.
"The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz is subject to the specific mechanisms and conditions of the Islamic Republic of Iran and is not related to the negotiations between Iran and Oman," Iran's Tasnim news agency cited the Guard's spokesperson Hossein Mohebbi as saying.
Progress is being made between Iran and Oman on the Strait of Hormuz, and "we expect a deal soon," a U.S. official told Reuters on Friday. Once a deal is announced to restore commercial shipping without impediments, the United States will lift its blockade of Iranian ports, the official said. "There is progress between Oman and Iran on the Strait, and we expect a deal soon," the official said. "Once the deal is announced to restore commercial shipping without impediments, the United States will lift the blockade of Iranian ports." "As always, U.S. actions will continue to be performance-based and tied to Iran’s implementation of its commitments," the official said.
But it seems that Iranian officials want to make these arrangements with Oman as part of a much bigger regional security framework.
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