Iran's foreign minister said Sunday that negotiations with Oman over arrangements for the Strait of Hormuz have entered their final stages, as Tehran seeks a new maritime route that would recognize the sovereign rights of both coastal states. The announcement came hours after President Donald Trump said he had canceled planned U.S. strikes on Iran to allow time for a deal that would fully reopen the vital waterway.

Abbas Araghchi told Iran's cabinet that the talks with Muscat were "on the way to being finalised," according to a report he presented and later shared on Telegram. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said the two sides were close to an understanding on a route that is "neither the northern route nor the southern route" but one that "respects the sovereign rights of both sides and safeguards our national interests and security."

Baghaei emphasized that any agreement with Oman on a shipping corridor would not by itself reopen the strait. "The closure of the Strait of Hormuz was not because of Oman, but because of U.S. treaty violations, the naval blockade of Iran and the harassing actions the U.S. has taken against Iran," he said in a state television interview. Reopening the waterway, he added, remains a separate matter.

Trump said late Saturday that Iran and other Middle Eastern countries had requested time to complete a deal. In a post on Truth Social, he wrote that the agreement would include the "Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran's nuclear threat." He said Israel joined him in the commitment to hold off on attacks "subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL." The U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports would remain in effect until any transaction is finalized, he added.

The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow chokepoint between Iran and Oman at the entrance to the Persian Gulf, carried roughly one-fifth of the world's seaborne oil trade and a significant share of liquefied natural gas before........

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