Tehran, Aug 5 (EFE).- Iran and Oman reached an agreement for a new shipping route in the Strait of Hormuz and are in the final stages of drafting a joint statement, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Wednesday.
»The geographical coordinates of the proposed route have been agreed upon by both parties, and, provided that certain third parties do not hinder the process, the joint statement outlining the main points of the agreement is in its final stages of review and drafting,» Baghaei said in a statement.
However, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman emphasized that a potential agreement between Iran and Oman would not, on its own, lead to the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, arguing that its closure was a consequence of the US and Israeli military offensive against Iran and the security repercussions stemming from the conflict.
According to Baghaei, as long as the US naval blockade of Iranian ships and ports, reinstated in mid-July, and other actions he described as “aggressive and threatening” against the Islamic Republic continue, the strait cannot be considered safe for commercial navigation.
The spokesman explained that talks between Iran and Oman, two states bordering the Strait of Hormuz, have been proceeding for two months in a “professional” manner and are “making progress,” to establish a safe route for commercial shipping, defining a mechanism to regulate maritime transit, taking into account technical, legal, security, and environmental considerations.
The announcement comes after US President Donald Trump stated that he had called off an attack on Iran over the weekend to allow time for negotiations that, he said, would begin on Monday, a claim Tehran denied, insisting that it is only holding talks with Oman regarding the future of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and that Washington is not participating in them.
Trump subsequently accused Iran of being “duplicitous” by denying the existence of those contacts and warned the Islamic Republic that this is its “last chance” to “sign a good deal.”
On June 17, Iran and the United States signed a memorandum of understanding, brokered by Pakistan and Qatar, to end the war, but hostilities resumed in early July, leading Tehran to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz and Washington to reestablish its naval blockade off the Iranian coast. EFE
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