The new arrangement follows months of technical and diplomatic consultations between Iran and Oman…reports Asian Lite News Desk
Iran and Oman have reached an agreement on the details of new entry and exit routes for ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz and are set to brief Gulf countries on the outcome at a regional meeting in Muscat on Monday, Iranian officials said.
According to a source close to Iran’s negotiating team cited by semi-official Tasnim news agency, the agreement followed intensive technical and diplomatic discussions between Tehran and Muscat that concluded in late August.
Under the arrangement, the entry route into the Gulf will lie entirely within Iranian territorial waters, while part of the exit route will also pass through waters under Iranian jurisdiction, the source said.
The source said the new route would operate under arrangements determined by Iran and that the southern route through the waterway would be closed once the new system comes into effect. The United States had reportedly pushed for the southern route to remain open.
The source also stressed that the agreement should not be interpreted as an immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
“The understanding in no way means that the Strait of Hormuz will be opened,” the source said, adding that Iran has set seven conditions for reopening the strategic waterway and has communicated them to the United States.
According to the source, the waterway will remain closed until those conditions are met, with any decision to reopen it depending entirely on US actions.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Friday that foreign ministers from Gulf countries would meet in Oman on Monday to discuss regional developments, including the outcome of consultations between Iran and Oman over safe shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Baghaei said the meeting was expected to include foreign ministers from Gulf states as well as Iran and Iraq.
“As part of the agenda, we are going to brief the delegations about the results of the Iran and Oman consultations regarding the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.
Baghaei said Iran and Oman had held the consultations in their capacity as the two coastal states of the strategically important waterway.
Late last month, Iran and Oman said in a joint statement that they had discussed a proposed phased framework that included the establishment of a temporary joint shipping corridor through the strait.
The developments follow restrictions imposed by Tehran on shipping through the waterway after US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28. US forces subsequently imposed a naval blockade targeting vessels travelling to and from Iranian ports.
The Strait of Hormuz connects the Gulf with the Arabian Sea and is among the world’s most important routes for oil and gas shipments. Iran and Oman, which occupy opposite sides of the waterway, have maintained consultations on maritime security and navigation in the strategic passage.
