TEHRAN — Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman on Sunday declared that the Strait of Hormuz will “never return to its pre-war state,” as negotiations with Oman over the future management of the strategic waterway enter their final stages.

Esmaeil Baghaei said the talks with Oman are aimed at developing a shared mechanism for transit through the strait, emphasizing that the discussions are strictly bilateral and unrelated to whether the waterway remains open or closed.

“The understanding with Oman over a new transit route has nothing to do with whether the Strait of Hormuz remains open or closed,” Baghaei said, adding that the strait has been closed because the United States “reneged on its commitments and imposed a blockade”.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday that the discussions between Tehran and Muscat regarding the Strait of Hormuz are approaching their final stage, as Iranian officials outlined their vision for the future administration of the strategic waterway.

During a meeting of Iran’s Council of Ministers, Araghchi presented a report on the latest developments in the talks, describing what he called positive progress in the negotiations.

Baghaei explained that the talks aim to develop a shared mechanism for transit through the Strait of Hormuz, stressing that the understanding with Oman over a new transit route is unrelated to whether the strait remains open or closed.

The negotiations are a continuation of discussions that began following the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, which established that the future administration of the Strait of Hormuz would remain under Iran’s responsibility, in consultation with Oman and through dialogue with regional countries.

 

Iran has firmly rejected shipping routes established in 1968 through an agreement negotiated by Iran and Oman.

Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister and one of its negotiators in talks with the United States, has reasserted claims of permanent Iranian control over shipping in the strait, noting that the 1968 agreement predated the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

“Today we told the Omani side that those routes must definitely change,” Gharibabadi said. “We decided that we would also begin expert and technical talks on changing the routes.” 

The framework, called the Traffic Separation Scheme, was largely a technical solution to prevent collisions between supertankers passing through the waterway, which is just 24 miles wide, and a legal solution to the fact that there are no neutral international waters in the middle of the strait because the sovereign waters of Iran and Oman overlap.

In Iranian officials’ view, the traditional transit routes have allowed warships to pass through the strait, threatening Iran’s security.  

The secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Muhammad Bagher Zolghadr, warned Saturday that the continuation of the U.S. maritime blockade and provocations would not only further restrict the Strait of Hormuz but also result in the closure of other maritime chokepoints.

Zolghadr said the continued naval blockade and provocations by the American regime will further tighten the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and will also lead to the closure of other vital straits and maritime passage. He warned that the global economy, the energy market, and American voters would pay the price for these repercussions.

On July 14, the U.S. military’s Central Command announced the reimposition of a maritime blockade on Iran under the direction of President Donald Trump. Tehran has insisted that vessel transits be governed by a mechanism it administers through the strategic waterway along its coastline.

Baghaei emphasized that the future route will be neither the previous northern corridor nor the current southern passage, but 

an entirely new route established through mutual agreement between Iran and Oman.
He criticized continued use of the current southern route, saying it has contributed to instability in the region and harmed Iran’s national interests, adding that Tehran will not accept that arrangement. 
According to Baghaei, the northern shipping lane of the strait had remained completely calm during the first 22 or 23 days of implementing the ceasefire agreement, with vessels transiting without disruption.
However, he said that before the expiration of the previously designated 30-day period for restoring maritime traffic to its pre-war status, one party carried out “aggression against Iran,” disrupting the situation. Baghaei reiterated that the future administration of the Strait of Hormuz will be conducted by Iran in consultation with Oman.