Hormuz deal ‘close’: What’s the latest on each side’s positions?
Al Jazeera · LC · trust 64/100
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x whatsapp-stroke copylink google Add Al Jazeera on Google info Vessels are seen anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off the port city of Khasab on northern Oman’s Musandam Peninsula [File: AFP] By Priyanka Shankar and Caolán Magee Published On 6 Aug 2026 6 Aug 2026 Iran says a deal with Oman to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is “on the verge of being finalised” after both countries confirmed they had agreed coordinates for shipping routes through the critical waterway.
The strait links the Gulf to the Gulf of Oman with Oman and the United Arab Emirates on one side and Iran on the other. It flows through the territorial waters of Iran and Oman with some of its outskirts in UAE waters.
It has become a major flashpoint in the war between Iran and the United States because one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies are shipped through it in peacetime. Iran closed the strait after the US and Israel began strikes on Iran at the end of February, sending oil prices spiralling and causing havoc in global energy markets.
In recent weeks, negotiations have been under way to arrive at an agreement that would restore a ceasefire and reopen the strait.
It is unclear when a deal will be announced, but on Wednesday, Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei signalled that Tehran and Muscat were close to finalising an agreement on a new commercial shipping corridor through the strait.
Baghaei told reporters the negotiations between Iran and Oman were “moving forward” and highlighted that “if certain third parties do not obstruct the process, the two countries are also in the final stage of reviewing and drafting a joint statement covering the main points of agreement” in an apparent reference to recent US strikes on Iran.
Talks between Iran and Oman began after Washington and Tehran signed a June 17 memorandum of understanding (MoU) that is supposed to be a framework for a peace agreement. The MoU stipulated that Iran would ensure the strait would be open to shipping for at least 60 days, but it fell apart last month. The two countries primarily disagreed on which routes ships should take, and Iran attacked several ships that had taken an Oman-approved route that was backed by the US.
Baghaei said on Wednesday that the talks with Oman covered the technical, legal, security and environmental aspects of the proposed shipping corridor.
Baghaei has dismissed claims that a bilateral agreement with Oman would automatically lead to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
A potential deal with Oman, he stated, “cannot in itself be interpreted as meaning the waterway has become safe for passing vessels”, arguing that the main source of instability remained the US and its naval deployments, maritime blockade of Iranian ports and other “hostile measures against the country [Iran] and its interests”.
Once an agreement on the strait is reached, broader peace talks could begin again. Furthermore, it is unclear whether an agreement over Hormuz would be temporary and whether future arrangements for shipping through the waterway would need to be further hammered out.
Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Mahmoud Abdelwahed said a deal on the Strait of Hormuz does not mean an “end to the crisis”.
“These discussions are now at the final drafting stage, pending a joint final statement,” he said. “But Iranian officials argue that these discussions are exclusively with Oman, without any foreign or outside interference.”
“On the other hand, Washington rejects reports suggesting that Iran would have control over traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, and they say that any temporary route should not require any permits, approvals or fees,” he noted.
“So while a final agreement on a temporary route in the Strait of Hormuz is now in the making, the dispute remains unresolved. That means that any agreement on a shipping route in the Strait of Hormuz does not necessarily mean the end to the crisis,” he added.
While Tehran has said it has agreed on the coordinates for shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz with Oman, Iran also continues to insist it is negotiating only with Oman, not directly with Washington, and maintains that Iran and Oman should jointly manage the strait according to their respective territorial waters and they should retain control of navigation there.
Iran has also stated that it will not reopen the strait until the US naval blockade of its ports is lifted.
On Wednesday, Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, told Iran’s IRNA state news agency that an understanding between Tehran and Muscat is that large parts of the shipping route would go through Iran’s territorial waters and some parts would pass through Oman’s waters.
While existing temporary routes would be closed, the new inbound and outbound shipping routes would be used for two to four months or potentially longer, Gharibabadi said.
Furthermore, Iran has intimated that it plans to introduce some form of fee system for ships. Under international maritime law, tolls for passage cannot be levied on international straits, such as Hormuz, but coastal states may charge for services they provide, such as…
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