Iran says Hormuz reopening deal close, demands US compensate for MOU breach

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said negotiations between Iran and Oman on reopening the Strait of Hormuz are very close to an agreement, Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported Saturday (local time).

Speaking separately at a press conference alongside Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Araghchi said reopening the strait was contingent on additional conditions being met, including compensation from the United States for violating the Islamabad MOU.

Araghchi said the existing Traffic Separation Scheme applied to the Strait of Hormuz was no longer suitable for vessel transit from Iran's perspective, and that a new scheme would need to be considered.

He said the armed forces of Iran and Oman were negotiating to finalize a new interim route, and that the existing route would serve as the basis until that process was complete.

Araghchi said that under the MOU, shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz had been expected to return to normal levels within a month, and that it had in fact recovered to 60 percent of normal within two weeks of the agreement being signed. He blamed the United States for the current restrictions on strait transit, accusing Washington of attempting to establish a new route.

Earlier that day, Sardar Mohebi, a spokesperson for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said the conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz were the United States fully accepting Iran's terms and ceasing interference in regional negotiations, adding that the strait would definitely open if Washington complied, according to the semi-official Tasnim News Agency.

The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing sources, that Iran and Oman had agreed on the key elements of a draft deal to establish an inbound lane near Iranian waters and an outbound lane near Omani waters, and had conveyed the proposal to the United States and regional countries.

According to the draft obtained by the Wall Street Journal, vessels entering the Strait of Hormuz would use a lane on the Iranian side in coordination with Tehran, while vessels exiting would use a lane in Omani waters in coordination with Muscat.

Under the draft, Iran would gain control over vessels entering the Persian Gulf through the strait but could not impose transit fees or service charges. However, the deal may not prevent Iran from receiving voluntary payments from ships to cover security and search-and-rescue costs.