Iran said an agreement with Oman has been reached on a proposed route for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a potential step toward a reopening of the critical waterway for energy supplies.A joint statement from Tehran and Muscat is under review and in the final drafting stage, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Wednesday. Negotiations between the two countries are “professional” and “forward-moving” and a deal would be struck “if certain third parties do not obstruct this process,” he said.The proposed deal between Iran and Oman would give Tehran control over ships entering the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, a senior Iranian source and two regional officials said Wednesday, in one of the biggest concessions yet to Iran.Despite the apparent step towards yielding to Iranian demands, the sources pushed back against assertions by Trump that a deal reopening the strait was imminent. “The concession has already been made regarding some form of control over Hormuz,” one of the regional sources told Reuters. Trump said late Tuesday that a deal on the Strait of Hormuz is imminent.The other regional source said there were still details to be determined about how “control” would be defined, with Gulf negotiators insisting regional countries supervise inspections of ships, and that any payment of fees be voluntary.
Understanding reached on route parameters: Iran
The senior Iranian source said the text of an agreement already on the table envisioned Iran having control of ships heading into the Gulf through the strait, and one of the main sticking points was what role Iran would also have over ships heading in the opposite direction.Baghei said that, if third parties did not obstruct the process, a joint statement between the two countries, containing the main considerations and key points of understanding, was in the final stages of review and drafting. US officials have repeatedly insisted that they would never accept any arrangement that lets Iran control access to the world’s most important trade route for energy supplies.“Talks are continuing, but it is too early to say that a deal with Oman has been finalised,” the senior Iranian source said. Another Iranian source said: “The devil is in the details. A single tweet from Trump could cause the whole thing to collapse.”
No plans to travel to Pakistan: Iranian spokesperson
Baghaei said there was no plan for the foreign minister or the parliament speaker, who have been leading negotiations on Iran’s part, to travel to Qatar or Pakistan during the weekend, adding Tehran continued to stay in contact with the two countries that are “continuing their efforts to reduce tensions”.At a regular briefing in New York, deputy UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said the UN had received no first-hand information about a possible reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, but added: “We certainly encourage the parties to move forward with any effort to have a negotiated solution to the issue.”A deal that gives Iran control over access to the strait would mean the war had resulted in a shift in the balance of regional power in Tehran’s favour. Before the war, the strait was freely open to all. But Trump, who initially said “Operation Epic Fury” would end in Iran’s “unconditional surrender” with him approving the choice of its leader, has been under pressure to find a way out of a war US voters oppose two-to-one.