TEHRAN — Iran has firmly 
rejected the notion that a technical agreement with Oman on a new shipping route would be sufficient to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with officials stating the waterway will remain closed as long as U.S. military aggression and naval blockade continue.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei made the remarks at his weekly press conference on Monday, as U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent expressed optimism that Washington could reach an agreement with Iran “today or tomorrow” to fully reopen the strategic waterway. 
At the heart of Iran’s position is a firm insistence that the Strait’s closure was not caused by any disagreement with Oman, but rather by direct U.S. and Israeli military aggression that began on February 28.
“Reaching an agreement on a safe shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz is a necessary but not sufficient condition for reopening the strait,” Baghaei said at a press conference.
He elaborated that the strait’s closure was a direct consequence of “American treaty-breaking, the naval blockade of Iran, and the series of disruptive actions Washington has carried out against the Islamic Republic”. The Strait of Hormuz has been closed “not because of disagreements between Tehran and Muscat, but because of U.S. and Israeli aggression against Iran”.
Baghaei made clear that as long as U.S. military aggression and violations of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding continue, “no particular change will occur regarding the situation in the Strait”.
“The situation in the Strait of Hormuz will not change as long as the United States continues its acts of aggression and its blockade,” he said. The strategic waterway would “never return to its pre-war state”.
According to a detailed analysis published in the National Security Journal, the arrangement taking shape between Iran and Oman represents what Washington could accept as an “off-ramp” from the war — but not the settlement President Trump has described publicly.
The analysis notes that while Washington is treating the Oman talks as part of a wider settlement process that Tehran says does not exist, Iran has been unusually direct about separating the two. An agreement with Oman on a shipping route has “no link to the Strait of Hormuz being opened or closed. That is a separate discussion,” Baghaei stated.
What is striking about the potential arrangement is what is absent from it: any American role in the arrangement, any third-party demining commitment Iran has accepted, and any explicit reopening timeline tied to the corridor’s signature rather than to the end of hostilities as Iran defines them.
Baghaei categorically dismissed reports of ongoing negotiations between Tehran and Washington, contradicting statements by President Trump that talks would begin on August 3.
“We do not have any negotiations with the United States at the moment,” Baghaei told reporters. “We are not going to host a delegation or be guests of a country during these days.”
He added: “Today, Mr. Araghchi is traveling for the Arbaeen pilgrimage, and all our negotiators are in Iran.” This directly contradicted Trump’s claim that negotiations with Iran would begin on August 3.
A Single Temporary Corridor Under Negotiation
Baghaei outlined the scope of the Iran-Oman talks, explaining that the two countries are negotiating a single, temporary two-way shipping corridor through the strait.
“The current discussions are about a two-way corridor, not two or three separate routes,” Baghaei said. The proposed temporary route would remain in place until a permanent alternative is introduced.
He noted that the discussions have centered on creating an interim navigation corridor that takes into account the interests of both coastal states by merging the southern route through Omani waters and the northern route through Iranian territorial waters.
Baghaei reminded that Iran had accepted responsibility under Article 5 of the June 18 Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding to help manage navigation through the strait and had begun efforts to restore maritime traffic to pre-war levels.
He said those efforts were disrupted after the U.S. “violated the agreement” by launching military attacks against Iran before the deadline and reinstating what Tehran described as an “unlawful maritime blockade”.
“The understanding with Oman regarding a new shipping lane is solely a prerequisite for regulating maritime traffic. It does not mean the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz,” Baghaei said.
Mediation Structure Clarified
Baghaei also clarified the mediation structure for any potential Iran-U.S. communication, stating that “the mediator in discussions related to Iran and the U.S. is Pakistan, and Qatar assists when necessary”.