Negotiations between Iran and Oman over new shipping rules for the Strait of Hormuz are making progress, according to Oman’s foreign minister, who said an interim corridor could be announced soon.
“I am hopeful we will soon announce a temporary corridor for the Strait of Hormuz and practical arrangements to restore safe navigation,” Badr al-Busaidi wrote on X on Tuesday evening following talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB published a joint statement by Iran and Oman, saying the two countries had discussed a step-by-step approach to new shipping rules and mine-clearing operations in the Strait of Hormuz.
The two states bordering the strategic waterway – which is critical to international energy trade – have been in talks on the issue for weeks.
Iran largely closed the strait to shipping after US-Israeli strikes began in late February. The Islamic Republic has demanded that vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz do so only along its own coastline.
The United States, for its part, imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports.
According to a framework agreement reached between Iran and the US in mid-June, a long-term deal regarding shipping in the Strait of Hormuz is to be negotiated between Iran and Oman in accordance with international law and with the involvement of the neighbouring states.