Iran has agreed with Oman on a safe navigation route through the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ismail Baghaei announced on Saturday.
Baghaei said in an interview with Iranian defense news agency Defa Press that negotiations registered positive progress over the last three weeks and produced an agreement on the navigation route map.
Navigation Agreement and Outstanding Issues
Baghaei did not provide specific details about the agreed route map. He indicated that contacts between the two countries are continuing to resolve remaining issues, including a joint declaration that both parties plan to issue once the process is complete.
The spokesperson emphasized that the understanding between Tehran and Muscat is an independent bilateral agreement intended to guarantee the safe passage of ships through the strait. He added that talks progressed despite obstructions by the United States.
US Conditions and Maritime Blockade
Baghaei reiterated that full normalization of commercial traffic through the strait depends on an end to illegal actions, interference, threats, and a maritime blockade by the United States. He also cited the need for reparation regarding violations of commitments set out in a memorandum of understanding reached between Tehran and Washington in June.
The route agreement forms part of negotiations that Iran and Oman, as coastal states of the strategic waterway, began three months ago. Before the outbreak of war between Iran, the United States, and Israel on Feb. 28, 20 percent of global oil passed through the strait.
Military Escalation and Reopening Demands
Iran announced a new closure of the Strait of Hormuz in mid-July following renewed US bombings in southern Iran. Tehran responded by striking US targets in Middle Eastern countries, while Washington reinstated a naval blockade on Iran.
Tehran has demanded that Washington end the war, lift the blockade on Iranian ports and vessels, and permit Iranian oil sales in international markets in exchange for reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
