Iran: Hormuz Talks are Only with Oman, Not US

By Staff, Agencies 

Iran is negotiating only with Oman over future arrangements for managing the Strait of Hormuz and has held no talks with the United States, a source close to the Iranian negotiating team told Iran’s Fars News Agency.

The source further asserted that Tehran had maintained from the beginning that the southern route created following the "US betrayal of Article Five" was unsafe and illegal.

According to the source, attempts by the United States and some of its allies to make the southern route permanent have faced firm opposition from Iran.

The source told Fars that US military attacks and threats have failed to alter Iran’s position regarding the Strait of Hormuz arrangements.

The source added that if the United States and some of its partners had not obstructed Iran-Oman negotiations, the talks would have reached an outcome in a short period of time.

Iran has previously said that discussions with Oman focus on establishing a safe framework for maritime traffic through the strategic waterway.

Fars reported that US officials sent contradictory signals in recent days, directly or through regional partners, causing disruption to the negotiation process.

The agency cited concerns that obstruction by the United States or certain regional parties could prolong the talks or prevent them from reaching an agreement.

The Strait of Hormuz remains a key maritime route for global energy shipments, and any changes to its management could have significant implications for international trade and shipping.

Iran and Oman are close to reaching an agreement on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, provided that US and other foreign interference in the region ceases, according to an informed source cited by Iran's Press TV.

The source underlined that the ongoing discussions are strictly bilateral between Iran and Oman, stressing that the United States is not involved in the negotiations.

The remarks come after a senior Iranian source told Reuters earlier that Tehran and Muscat are discussing a plan to reopen the strategic waterway while giving Iran oversight of shipping entering the Strait of Hormuz.

Meanwhile, a senior Iranian political and security source affirmed that Iran is not holding any negotiations with the United States. The source accused US President Donald Trump of habitually lying and of blaming others rather than taking responsibility for undermining the prior understanding.

According to the source, Iran's actual negotiations are with Oman, its permanent neighbor, given that the Strait of Hormuz lies entirely within the two countries’ territorial waters. “The United States has always been a disruptive and destabilizing force and can’t present itself as the region’s savior.”

On the strait's status, the source said whether it stays open or closed “depends on the broader situation in the region,” but stressed it will not reopen “as long as US aggression, the blockade, and other provocative measures against Iran continue.”

The US military presence itself, the source added, is the core problem, since no country in the region wants war. “Everyone in the region understands that Netanyahu and Trump's recklessness has imposed an enormous and wide-ranging cost on them," the source concluded.