Iran’s foreign ministry said Wednesday that Iran and Oman have agreed on a route for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz and are putting the final touches on arrangements for jointly managing the waterway.

Reports said the deal, which would renew a US-Iran ceasefire, would preserve Iranian control of the strait’s traffic.

But official sources briefing Iranian media stressed that any reopening of the strait would depend on the United States fulfilling what Tehran sees as a US commitment to end its own naval blockade of Iran’s ports.

The most recent round of fighting between the US and Iran, which began about a month ago, has centered on access to the strait, which Iran has obstructed, and which was a key pathway for the global supply of oil and gas before the war.

One obstacle to a deal may be the uncertain status of Iran’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in an interview aired by state TV on Wednesday that interaction with Khamenei is currently “very difficult.”

Mojtaba has not made any public appearances since he became supreme leader, replacing his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a strike launched against Iran by the US and Israel on the first day of the war in late February.

On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump claimed that “all-day” talks were happening between the countries, but also said he’d hit the Islamic Republic “really hard” if a deal is not reached.

Trump has repeatedly threatened large-scale strikes on Iran but then backed off, citing progress in talks. After one of those threats last week, Iran warned Gulf states that any new US attack on its territory would trigger retaliation against critical energy infrastructure across the region, five sources told Reuters.

Proposed deal said to give Iran some control

The proposed deal between Iran and Oman would give Tehran control over ships entering the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, a senior Iranian source and two regional officials told Reuters on Wednesday, one of the biggest concessions yet to Iran.

There were varying reports on the deal. Iran reported “significant progress” in the talks with Oman and said both inward and outward journeys would pass through Iranian waters. Before the war, the strait was freely open to all ships with no fees.

In comments to Iran’s official IRNA news agency, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said the arrangement was “designed in such a way that commercial ships will pass through Iranian territorial waters, both on the inbound and outbound legs of their journey.”

He said the talks with Oman had “reached fundamental understandings” and added: “This progress is on the verge of being finalized.”

Gharibabadi also said Iran had received messages from the United States indicating that it was “fully prepared to return to its commitments” under a mid-June memorandum of understanding with Iran that provided for immediate cessation of military operations.

He said this was a condition for reopening of the strait, but not enough in itself, while adding that no talks........

© The Times of Israel