Iran Claims Progress in Talks with Oman on Hormuz

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on July 26 that “progress” had been made in discussions between Iran and Oman, but provided no further details.

His statement came after an Omani delegation traveled to Tehran on July 25 for talks on managing the Strait of Hormuz.

Baghaei said that “several rounds of talks” had taken place in Tehran in recent days between the Iranian and Omani deputy foreign ministers, during which both sides “exchanged views on shared principles and operational mechanisms for managing the safe passage of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, while respecting the sovereign rights of both states.”

However, he added that “there has currently been no change in the status of navigation through the strait.”

Iran and Oman are the two countries bordering the narrowest part of the Strait of Hormuz, through which around one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies ordinarily pass.

Immediately after war broke out with the United States and Israel in February, Iran effectively halted most maritime traffic through the strait, carrying out attacks on international vessels.

The attacks on vessels in Hormuz have disrupted global energy markets and made the reopening of this vital waterway one of the main issues in the subsequent negotiations between the United States and Iran.

Fighting resumed in recent weeks after the United States accused Iran of attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, which unraveled a ceasefire agreement reached in June.

The United States has said Iran is using the strait as leverage, arguing that it is an international corridor protected under international law./REL