Iran and Oman have reportedly agreed on details of new entry and exit routes for the Strait of Hormuz, with the two countries set to brief other Gulf nations on the outcome of their consultations at a regional meeting in Muscat on Monday.
Once the new system becomes operational, the southern route would be closed. The southern route, which the US had insisted on opening and which had been a primary source of recent tensions, would be closed once the new arrangement is implemented. However, the participating countries will only be briefed on the outcome of the Iran-Oman negotiations.
An Iranian commercial vessel was struck early Sunday off Qeshm Island, killing one of its 10 crew members and injuring four others, Iranian state media said.
The routes would operate under Iranian arrangements, the source said. The United States had insisted that the southern route be opened, according to the source. “The understanding in no way means that the Strait of Hormuz will be opened,” the news agency’s source said, adding that Iran had seven conditions for reopening the waterway and had conveyed them to the United States. The source said transit along the new route would be governed by Iranian protocols. The specifics of the understanding were finalised during technical meetings held exclusively between Iran and Oman, according to the source. Baghaei said the meeting would “hopefully” be attended by the foreign ministers of the Gulf states, as well as representatives from Iran and Iraq. State-run IRNA quoted the Qeshm governor as blaming a “terrorist enemy”. He said authorities had not yet identified the projectile.
Earlier while talking to Al Jazeera, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei that foreign ministers from the Gulf littoral states are scheduled to meet in Oman on Monday to discuss regional issues, including the Iran-Oman talks on establishing safe routes through the Strait of Hormuz.
