Oman: Strait of Hormuz negotiations with Iran are positive and have reached their final stages

Oman described on Saturday the negotiations between it and Iran regarding the future management of the Strait of Hormuz as “positive,” while Tehran announced that the talks had reached their “final stages,” at a time when Abu Dhabi accused Iran of targeting an Emirati tanker in the strategic waterway.

Iran has effectively closed the strait since the beginning of the war and is seeking to compel ships transiting it to pay “service fees” for passage, having repeatedly attacked vessels it accuses of attempting to circumvent the route it has designated.

The United States refuses to allow Iran to collect any fees from ships using the strait, although a memorandum of understanding reached between the two warring states last June allows Iran to “determine the future management of maritime services” in the strait through dialogue with Oman, which lies on the opposite bank.

Iran announced on Wednesday that it had reached an agreement with Oman regarding a new transit route in the strait, which constitutes one of the key factors driving tensions with the United States.

The ongoing attacks in the strait, which was open to navigation before the war, have undermined a ceasefire agreed upon in April, and mediators have since been urging both parties to return to the terms of the memorandum of understanding.