CAIRO (AP) — Iran and the Gulf Arab state of Oman have made progress toward a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a potential breakthrough that could help wind down the war in the Middle East, regional officials said Tuesday.
Under the emerging agreement, ships would enter the Persian Gulf through an Iranian-controlled route and exit through a route controlled by Oman, with service fees charged for providing security and preserving the maritime environment,
two regional officials told The Associated Press.
They said negotiations are still underway and that the final agreement could take a different form. They said any deal would be linked to lifting the U.S. blockade on Iran’s ports. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive negotiations unfolding behind closed doors.
Any agreement formalizing Iran’s control of the strait would mark a significant strategic victory for Tehran. For that reason, the U.S. could seek to block the deal by refusing to lift the blockade. The strait was an open international waterway before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28.
However, U.S. President Donald Trump is also under mounting pressure to end an unpopular war that has driven up gas prices ahead of midterm elections and drawn down U.S. supplies of some munitions. In recent days, he has again whipsawed between threatening massive strikes and voicing support for diplomatic efforts.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking to reporters at the State Department, said “there’s been progress made in those talks, but not finality yet. We’re hoping that will happen very shortly.”
Rubio has previously ruled out any deal that would give Iran control over the strait, saying last month that it would create a “very dangerous precedent” for other parts of the world.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that “there is a chance we may have a deal today or tomorrow to open the strait and move towards a more normalized position in this conflict.”
Asked whether there would be tolls for movement through the strait, Bessent said: “I think it would be freedom of movement, and even though things are still a little dicey there over the past few days, we saw quite a few ships coming out even now.”
The potential agreement between Iran and Oman was first reported by The New York Times.
A fifth of the world's traded oil and gas transited the waterway before the war. Iranian attacks on ships have largely shut it down, causing a spike in the price of fuel, fertilizer and other goods, and rattling economies far beyond the Middle East.
Trump said Monday that the U.S. was in talks with Iran, saying it was Tehran's “last chance” to reach a deal and avoid another U.S. military escalation.
“The first phase is the opening of the straits. The second phase will be the denuclearization,” Trump said. “And that will take a little while.”
Iran has denied it is negotiating with the U.S., saying the talks are only with Oman.
The two sides reached an interim agreement in June to reopen the strait and launch 60 days of talks aimed at ending the war and resolving the longstanding dispute over Iran's nuclear program. That agreement collapsed over escalating hostilities focused on the strait, and the deadline is around two weeks away.
Meanwhile, a cargo ship reported being “hit by an unknown projectile” in the strait off the coast of Oman, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said, without providing further information on the ship, including what flag it was sailing under or whether it was carrying cargo.
The ship sustained damage, according to British maritime security firm Ambrey, which did not elaborate.
In recent weeks, Iran had repeatedly attacked ships using a route running close to Oman that is overseen by the U.S. military and intended to bypass Tehran's control.
___
Lee reported from Washington.
