Iran, Oman plan new Hormuz route

Tehran [Iran], August 4: Iran is negotiating with Oman over a joint temporary shipping corridor in the strategically important Strait of Hormuz, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said, according to the state news agency IRNA on Monday.
He added that the idea was to use a circular route rather than several separate lanes until a final arrangement was reached. Baghaei said the talks only involved Iran and Oman, stressing that Tehran was currently not involved in negotiations with the United States.
Issues relating to Iran and the US should be examined in the coming phases in order to assess how the situation may develop, he said. His comments came after US President Donald Trump announced a new round of talks with Iranian representatives had been scheduled for Monday. The dispute over passage rights through the key route for oil, gas and fertilizer shipping is a major flashpoint in the military conflict between the US and Iran.
Under the proposed model, tankers or cargo ships would enter the Strait of Hormuz on a northern route through Iranian territorial waters. After calling at ports in Iran or in Arab Gulf states, the ships would use a southern route through Omani territorial waters for the return journey.
At its narrowest point, the Strait of Hormuz is only about 39 kilometres wide. As Iran and Oman each claim a 12-nautical-mile zone (around 22.2 kilometres), the territorial waters of both coastal states overlap. There are no international waters in this area.
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) guarantees a right of transit passage there and prohibits a blockade of merchant ships. Iran does not accept this legal position.
The planned new arrangement restricts free passage compared with the period before the start of the military conflict. Iran could, for example, control which ships from which countries enter the Strait of Hormuz. Warships could, among other things, be denied passage.
The US and Iran agreed on a framework agreement in mid-June. The agreement stated that Tehran, in coordination with the coastal states, is to reach an understanding with Oman on the future administration of the strait.
Meanwhile, Trump criticised Iran for not agreeing to "any discussions", saying "they're only dealing with 'Oman'."
"Iranian Leadership is unbelievably duplicitous! They ask for a meeting, some would say "beg," talks begin, with more scheduled in the immediate future, and they say, openly and proudly, that they're not having any discussions, that nothing is being talked about, and they're only dealing with "Oman"," Trump posted on Truth Social.
"They then go on to give their usual blather in saying, the Strait of Hormuz will be operated powerfully by them, when it is already completely controlled by the United States Navy and our "Blockade" or, as some say, "The United States Wall of Steel!"
"Nothing gets through to Iran, unless we want it to, and nothing will get through, unless a Deal, or Total Surrender, is accomplished. Whether Iran wants to admit it or not, we are, in fact, talking of a solution to a problem that they have caused, for decades. It is very simple, IRAN WILL NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!" he concluded.
Earlier, Trump announced a new round of talks with Iranian representatives after temporarily calling off further strikes on Iran.
The negotiations were due to take place on Monday, Trump told reporters on Sunday evening aboard Air Force One while travelling from New Jersey to Washington.
He did not say where they would be held, how long they might last or who would take part. Trump also repeated that the US military had scrapped plans for a new wave of strikes on Iran at the last minute following appeals from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Iran.
Source: Qatar Tribune