Iran says new Hormuz route agreed with Oman

TEHRAN: Iran and Oman have agreed a route for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz and are putting the final touches on arrangements for jointly managing the passage, Tehran’s foreign ministry said Wednesday.

Iran has seized de facto control of the strait, a strategic waterway for the global energy trade, since the United States and Israel launched their war against the country on February 28.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly insisted Tehran is keen to do a deal to reopen the route to shipping, but Iran denies this and says it will instead make arrangements with its neighbour across the strait, Oman.  

“The geographical coordinates of the route envisaged by the two sides have been agreed upon and, if certain third parties do not obstruct the process, the joint statement of the two countries, containing the main considerations and points of agreement, is also in the final review and drafting stage,” spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said, according to state news agency IRNA.

According to the report, Baqaei told journalists that talks with Oman were moving forward, but that even if an understanding was reached, it would not mean that the strait had become safe for all passing vessels.

“The factors making the Strait of Hormuz insecure still exist on the part of the United States, particularly the naval blockade and other aggressive and threatening actions against Iran and its interests,” he said.

Before the war, Hormuz carried around a fifth of the world’s oil and LNG exports and prices have repeatedly surged since the dispute over the waterway erupted, piling economic and political pressure on Washington to end it.