Iran and Oman near deal to reopen Strait of Hormuz, but details remain unsettled

Coverage spread: 3 sources — 1 left · 2 international

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Where they agree

Iran says a deal with Oman over managing the Strait of Hormuz is nearly finalized, though specifics are still being worked out.
The proposed arrangement would give Iran and Oman shared control over shipping through the strait rather than restoring it as a fully open international waterway.
Trump has publicly predicted a deal is close, saying the strait would reopen soon.
The strait has been effectively closed since fighting began in February, disrupting a route that normally carries roughly a fifth of world oil and gas trade.

Where they differ

Reuters/Guardian coverage stresses that Iranian sources directly contradicted Trump’s claim of an imminent deal, saying important details are unresolved, while France 24’s shorter items foreground Trump’s optimistic framing of a near-term breakthrough.
France 24 specifically reports Iran’s denial that the US is involved in the Oman negotiations at all, a detail not emphasized elsewhere.
Al Jazeera focuses almost entirely on the economic angle, detailing a shipping-industry letter to the UN opposing tolls, while the Guardian and France 24 concentrate on the diplomatic and military developments across the region.
The Guardian’s live coverage places the Hormuz talks alongside extensive reporting on Houthi tanker attacks and Israeli-Lebanese violence, giving a wider regional picture than the more narrowly focused France 24 and Al Jazeera pieces.

Iran says it is in the “final stage” of drafting an agreement with Oman to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow Gulf waterway that has been effectively shut since fighting began in February. US President Donald Trump has said a deal could be announced within days, but Iranian officials have pushed back on his framing, insisting Washington is not part of the negotiations and that key terms are still unresolved.

The strait, which separates Iran and Oman and normally carries about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas trade, has been closed for months amid the wider Middle East conflict. Iran has made clear it will not accept a return to the old arrangement, in which the strait functioned as a fully open international waterway. Instead, Tehran wants greater control over who passes through, and reports citing people familiar with the talks say Oman would be given responsibility for overseeing outbound shipping while Iran retains a say over vessels entering the Gulf. Iran has also tied any reopening to the United States lifting its blockade of Iranian ports, a condition that has not yet been resolved.

What exactly is Iran claiming, and what is Trump saying?

Iranian officials describe the Oman agreement as nearly finished but caution that specifics are still being worked out. Trump told Fox News the talks were “moving along nicely” and predicted the strait “is going to be open very soon.” Reuters reported that Iranian sources directly disputed Trump’s suggestion that a deal was imminent, with one source saying that while “the concession has already been made regarding some form of control over Hormuz,” other important details remain unsettled. France 24 separately reported Iran’s denial that the US is involved in the Oman talks at all, framing the negotiation as strictly bilateral.

What would change on the water if a deal is reached?

The reported structure would hand Oman oversight of ships leaving the Gulf through the strait, while Iran maintains some form of control over incoming traffic — a significant shift from the strait’s historic status as an open international transit route. On Thursday, a British maritime agency said an oil tanker passing near Oman in the strait reported hearing two explosions, a reminder that the waterway remains unsettled even as diplomatic talk of a deal circulates.

Why are global shipping groups raising alarms right now?

Eight major shipping associations — including the Baltic and International Maritime Council, the International Chamber of Shipping and the World Shipping Council — sent a letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres and International Maritime Organization chief Arsenio Dominguez warning against any tolls or mandatory fees for transiting the strait. The letter, sent Monday and made public Wednesday, argues that charging vessels to pass would break with international legal norms for straits used in global navigation and set a precedent that could be copied elsewhere. The groups warn that a permanent “toll booth” arrangement would push up energy prices and inflation worldwide, with what they call a real human cost. Dominguez had already told Al Jazeera in April that countries do not have the right to impose tolls or charges on such straits, calling any such move “very detrimental” to global shipping. Deborah Elms of the Hinrich Foundation in Singapore said Asian economies, which buy most of Gulf energy exports, are already feeling the strain from the closure through higher diesel prices, fertilizer costs and plastics shortages, adding that while oil can often be rerouted by pipeline, natural gas has no easy substitute route.

What else is happening alongside the Hormuz talks?

The diplomatic push is unfolding against a backdrop of continued violence. In Yemen, Iran-backed Houthi forces said they struck two Saudi oil tankers with ballistic missiles as part of their maritime blockade of the kingdom. In southern Lebanon, the Israeli military reported two reserve soldiers killed and four seriously wounded in an explosion in the village of Majdal Zoun — the first Israeli deaths since a fragile truce with Hezbollah took hold in June. A separate Israeli strike on the town of Tebnine killed one person and wounded twelve, according to Lebanon’s health ministry, and Israel ordered residents of the village of Mansouri to evacuate, citing an alleged Hezbollah ceasefire violation. These incidents came even as US-backed talks in Rome aimed at ending Israel-Lebanon hostilities continued; Israel cut short one session over what it called misleading leaks from the Lebanese side, though talks were expected to resume for a third and final day.

Why this matters beyond the region

A managed reopening of Hormuz, even a partial or conditional one, would be a major development for global energy markets given the volume of oil and gas that normally flows through it. But the shape of any deal — who controls access, whether fees are charged, and whether the US blockade on Iranian ports is lifted — will determine whether it eases global supply pressures or simply formalizes a more restricted, costlier version of transit through one of the world’s most important chokepoints.

Sources

Featured photo: European Space Agency (ESA) via Wikimedia Commons (Attribution)