Iran’s goal in talks with Oman over the Strait of Hormuz “is to set temporary arrangements” lasting one to three months “where Iran is dominant,” according to a member of Iran’s negotiating committee.
Tehran has reiterated that it is not negotiating with the United States over the status of the strait but seeking a bilateral deal with Oman, which lies along the southern side of the strait.
“The basis of the negotiations is to establish Iranian arrangements because security, demining, and maritime services are handled by Iran,” Saeed Ajorlu told Iranian state broadcaster IRIB. “We are only negotiating with the Omani side.”
He added: “We assert that the legal regime for passage through the Strait of Hormuz must not return to its pre-war state,” when no state controlled shipping through the critical waterway.
Ajorlu said the US had violated Article 5 of the memorandum agreed in June by opening a southern corridor through the strait – close to the Omani coast.
The article states that “Iran will make arrangements using its best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge for 60 days, only from the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman and vice versa.”
“Article 5 must be settled first,” Ajorlu said. Other commitments in the memorandum regarding the end of the war, a ceasefire in Lebanon, sanctions waivers, frozen Iranian funds held abroad and the US blockade of Iranian ports “must be addressed before we move to the next steps. We are not in that position yet.”
On Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the route negotiated with Oman would be a single corridor, rather than two routes – one close to the Iranian coast and one close to Oman’s – that had been discussed previously.
This middle route is intended to be used temporarily until an agreement is reached on a fixed route, he added.