Iran has said the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz will depend on the United States meeting several demands, while Tehran and Oman are reportedly close to finalising an agreement on new shipping routes through the strategic waterway.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Sunday that discussions with Oman over the arrangements for shipping through the strait had reached their “final stages”.
However, he made clear that reaching an agreement with Oman would not by itself result in the immediate reopening of the waterway.
According to Iran’s Mehr news agency, the proposed agreement would establish new shipping lanes that could be used after the United States fulfils conditions set by Tehran and the strait is reopened.
The developments come as Washington and Tehran remain without direct negotiations, with Iran saying it will not begin direct talks while the United States continues to breach an interim agreement reached in June.
Araqchi said communications between the two countries were continuing through intermediaries rather than direct discussions.
US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, described the current contact with Iran in an interview with Axios as “low-keying” it.
“We are only semi-negotiating with them. We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money.”
Iran has linked the future of the Strait of Hormuz to a wider set of demands involving US military activity, sanctions and financial restrictions.
Araqchi said compensation for damage caused by US attacks on Iran would be among the issues that needed to be addressed before the waterway could be reopened.
Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr, secretary of Iran’s top national security body, outlined additional conditions that Tehran wants addressed.
These include an end to further US threats against Iran, an end to what Tehran describes as aggression against Iran and its allies in Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen and Iraq, the removal of a US naval blockade in the Gulf, the lifting of sanctions and the release of frozen Iranian assets.
The United States and Israel launched extensive air strikes against Iran more than five months ago, with Washington saying the military action was intended to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons and reduce its ability to pose a threat to countries in the region.
A ceasefire between Washington and Tehran was agreed in June, but tensions continued afterwards.
The United States reintroduced a blockade affecting Iranian shipping in the Gulf in July, which Iran said violated the ceasefire. Tehran has also argued that the truce had already broken down by that stage.
A US official told Reuters that Washington would remove the blockade of Iranian ports once an agreement to restore commercial shipping without restrictions had been announced.
“Once the deal is announced to restore commercial shipping without impediments, the United States will lift the blockade of Iranian ports,” the official said.
The official added that US actions would depend on Iran carrying out its own commitments under the proposed arrangement.
The comments suggest that any agreement could involve a carefully coordinated sequence of measures, with shipping arrangements and restrictions being addressed in stages.
Earlier reports indicated that a possible arrangement could give Iran significant control over vessel movements entering the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz.
Shipping companies have previously raised concerns about whether such an arrangement would be practical for commercial traffic.
The situation has also been complicated by reports involving vessels in and around the strait. The United Arab Emirates said on Saturday that Iran had attacked a ship linked to its state-owned oil company.
Iran did not immediately comment on the allegation. The country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has previously carried out attacks against vessels that it said attempted to pass through the strait without Iranian permission.
The wider regional security situation has also affected shipping routes beyond the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian activity around the waterway has coincided with increased attacks by the Houthis, an Iran-aligned armed group based in Yemen.
The Houthis have targeted vessels around another strategically important maritime route between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Last month, the group also announced what it described as a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea.
The Houthis said the move was in response to what they described as a Saudi siege in Yemen, an allegation rejected by Riyadh.
Saudi Arabia supports Yemen’s internationally recognised government, which has been involved in a prolonged conflict with the Houthi movement.
The Houthis said on Sunday that they had attacked the Jazan refinery operated by Saudi Aramco.
The reported attack came two days after Saudi Arabia signed a defence agreement with Turkey and Pakistan, as regional tensions continued to rise following the conflict involving Iran, Israel and the United States.
Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry confirmed that a fire had occurred at the refinery but said it had subsequently been extinguished and that there were no injuries. The ministry did not identify the cause of the fire.
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the new defence arrangement was not directed at Iran or any other specific country.
He described the agreement instead as a broader commitment to supporting regional security. Meanwhile, fighting between the Houthis and forces supporting Yemen’s government has also intensified.
Yemen’s military said on Monday that seven people, including military personnel and civilians, were killed in a Houthi attack on the Red Sea port city of Mocha.
The military also said air defence systems intercepted and destroyed 11 Houthi drones involved in the attack.
The developments around Hormuz and the Red Sea have added to concerns over the security of major maritime routes used for energy and commercial shipping.
For now, Iran’s position remains that reopening the Strait of Hormuz is conditional on US action on compensation, sanctions, military threats, the Gulf blockade and other demands.
The proposed agreement with Oman could establish the framework for future shipping movements, but its implementation remains dependent on the wider negotiations and commitments between the parties.
