Iran and Oman Reach Agreement on New Strait Route

According to Jin10, Tasnim News Agency, citing informed sources, reported that Iran and Oman reached an agreement in early Shahrivar in the Iranian calendar, around the end of August, after intensive technical and diplomatic consultations. The understanding between Iran and Oman will be formally announced soon, and foreign ministers from Gulf coastal states will attend the relevant meeting. According to the source close to the negotiating team, the understanding was reached only by Iran and Oman, while other countries will attend the meeting only to learn the details of the route and transit arrangements and to signal that they do not oppose the arrangement. The source said Iran and Oman agreed on a new route into and out of the Strait of Hormuz and its specific arrangements, with the inbound route into the Persian Gulf entirely within Iran's territorial waters and part of the outbound route also within Iran's territorial waters. Ships will pass through the route under Iran's arrangements. After the plan is implemented, the southern route that the United States has insisted on keeping open will be closed, which the source said was the main trigger for the recent renewed tensions. The source added that Iraq will also attend the meeting, but these countries are only being informed of the outcome of the Iran-Oman talks, and the decision on the specific details of the understanding was made during technical-level talks between Iran and Oman. The source stressed that the understanding does not mean the Strait of Hormuz will be reopened, and said Iran has conveyed seven conditions for reopening the strait to the U.S. through intermediaries; until those conditions are implemented and approved by Iran's highest-level institutions, the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed.