Iran, Oman finalise new shipping routes for Strait of Hormuz

Iran and Oman have finalised details for new entry and exit routes through the Strait of Hormuz and will brief Gulf countries on the arrangement at a regional meeting in Muscat on Monday, Iranian officials said. Quoting a source close to Iran’s negotiating team, Tasnim news agency reported that the understanding was reached following technical and diplomatic talks between the two countries, which led to a final agreement in late August. Under the arrangement, the entry route into the Gulf would lie entirely within Iranian territorial waters, while part of the exit route would also pass through Iranian waters, the source said. The source said the routes would be operated by Iran, adding that the southern route through the waterway would be closed once the new system comes into effect. The United States, however, had insisted that the southern route be reopened, the source added. The understanding does not mean the Strait of Hormuz will be reopened, the source stressed, saying Iran has set seven conditions for restoring passage and has conveyed them to Washington. The waterway will remain closed until those conditions are met, with any decision to reopen it depending entirely on US actions, the source said. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Friday that foreign ministers from Gulf littoral states were expected to meet in Oman on Monday to discuss regional issues, including the Iran-Oman consultations on establishing safe routes through the Strait of Hormuz. Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Baghaei said the meeting would hopefully bring together 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 the consultations had been conducted by Iran and Oman as the two coastal states of the strategic waterway. Late last month, Iran and Oman said in a joint statement that they had exchanged views on a proposed phased framework that included establishing a temporary joint shipping corridor through the strait. The consultations come after Iran restricted passage through the Strait of Hormuz following US-Israeli strikes on the country on February 28, while US forces imposed a naval blockade targeting vessels travelling to and from Iranian ports. The Strait of Hormuz, which links the Gulf with the Arabian Sea, is one of the world’s most important routes for oil and gas shipments. Iran and Oman sit on opposite sides of the waterway and have continued consultations on maritime security and navigation in the strategic passage.

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