Iran says Hormuz shipping deal with Oman is days away

Iran said Monday that negotiations with Oman to establish a temporary safe shipping corridor through the Strait of Hormuz have reached their "final stage," with an agreement expected within days that would be registered with the International Maritime Organization. The announcement came alongside a broader Iranian plan to declare a new restricted zone in the Persian Gulf, raising the stakes in a six-month conflict that has sharply curtailed traffic through one of the world's most critical energy chokepoints.ynetnews+1

Corridor Deal Takes Shape

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei told reporters in Tehran on Monday that the Iran-Oman agreement would document a temporary safe route through the strait, describing it as an "understanding" rather than a formal treaty. Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said in televised remarks Sunday that maps for the corridor had been agreed upon and would be signed imminently.reuters+1

"The maps of a new international corridor which lies in Iranian and Omani waters and in which Iran will have management have been agreed and should be signed in the coming days," Rezaei told state television. Baghaei acknowledged that outside interference had caused "ups and downs" in the talks but said they had nonetheless progressed to a conclusion.turkiyetoday+1

Brent crude reversed early gains on the corridor news, dipping after having traded near $98 a barrel earlier in the session.moneycontrol

Restricted Zone Raises New Tensions

Alongside the corridor announcement, Rezaei said Tehran would declare a restricted zone extending from the U.S. naval blockade line into the Persian Gulf, warning that any vessel entering the area would be placed on Iran's sanctions list. Few details were provided on how the sanctions would be enforced or where the zone's boundaries would fall.thenationalnews+1

The announcement followed a weekend of escalation. U.S. Central Command said American forces struck three Iranian oil tankers on Saturday, including one near Kharg Island, after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired ballistic missiles at U.S. warships. Iran separately claimed it struck an unmanned U.S. vessel entering the strait, which CENTCOM spokesperson Captain Tim Hawkins called "a total lie".reuters+1

Traffic through the waterway has plummeted. An average of just 10 commodity ships transited the strait per day over the past 10 days, according to marine analytics firm Kpler — the lowest since May and a fraction of the more than 130 daily crossings before the war began on February 28.aljazeera+1

Regional Diplomacy Intensifies

A Qatari delegation visited Tehran on Sunday in an effort to reduce tensions, while Baghaei said Iran would respond to any resolution by the International Atomic Energy Agency's board against Tehran, dismissing a U.S.-European push to refer Iran's nuclear file to the U.N. Security Council as "irrational".turkiyetoday+1

Stephen Zunes, founding chair of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of San Francisco, told Al Jazeera that Iran may be using the restricted zone as a bargaining chip. "If the deal with Oman is workable and something the US can accept, Iran could pull back from enforcing the restricted zone," he said. "If not, then Tehran has something ready to try to make it more problematic for Washington."aljazeera