Tehran/Doha, Sept 2026 : Iran and Oman have reached an understanding on details concerning new entry and exit routes for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and will brief Gulf countries on the outcome of their consultations at a regional meeting in Muscat on Monday, Iranian officials said.
According to a source close to Iran's negotiating team cited by semi-official Tasnim news agency, the understanding followed intensive technical and diplomatic discussions between Iran and Oman, which culminated in a final agreement in late August.
Under the proposed arrangement, the entry route into the Gulf would lie entirely within Iranian territorial waters, while a portion of the designated exit route would also pass through waters under Iranian jurisdiction, the source said.
The Iranian source stressed that the routes would operate under arrangements established by Tehran. It also said the southern route of the waterway would be closed once the new system becomes operational.
According to the source, the United States had insisted that the southern route should be opened. However, Tehran maintains that the latest understanding should not be interpreted as a decision to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“The understanding in no way means that the Strait of Hormuz will be opened,” the source said, adding that Iran has laid down seven conditions for reopening the strategic waterway and has already conveyed those conditions to the United States.
The source further said the strait would remain closed unless the specified conditions were implemented. Any decision to reopen the waterway, it added, would depend entirely on US actions and conduct.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Friday that foreign ministers from Gulf littoral states were scheduled to meet in Oman on Monday to discuss regional developments, including the outcome of Iran-Oman consultations on establishing safe maritime routes through the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Baghaei said the meeting would hopefully bring together foreign ministers from Gulf countries, as well as Iran and Iraq.
“As part of the agenda, we are going to brief the delegations about the results of the Iran and Oman consultations regarding the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.
Baghaei said Iran and Oman had conducted the consultations in their capacity as the two coastal states bordering the strategic waterway.
Late last month, Iran and Oman said in a joint statement that they had exchanged views on a proposed phased framework that included the establishment of a temporary joint shipping corridor in the strait.
The latest developments come amid heightened tensions in the region. Following US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, Tehran restricted passage through the Strait of Hormuz, while US forces imposed a naval blockade targeting vessels travelling to and from Iranian ports.
The Strait of Hormuz is a strategically vital maritime passage connecting the Gulf with the Arabian Sea and serves as one of the world's most important routes for global oil and gas shipments.
Iran and Oman occupy opposite sides of the narrow waterway and have historically maintained consultations on maritime security, navigation and the safe movement of commercial vessels.
The planned briefing of Gulf states could provide greater clarity on the proposed shipping arrangements and their implications for regional maritime traffic. However, Iran's insistence that the understanding does not constitute a reopening of the strait indicates that wider political and security conditions will continue to determine the future of navigation through the crucial waterway.
