Iran, Oman plan temporary Strait of Hormuz corridor as US impasse persists

CAIRO/DUBAI: Iran has held new talks with neighbouring Oman on managing the Strait of Hormuz, which has been blockaded for nearly six months, with Oman’s foreign minister saying he was hopeful a temporary corridor through the strategic waterway could soon be announced.

Iran and Oman have held on-and-off talks for weeks about controlling traffic through the strait, which handled one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before the war began in February.

Most shipping has since been shut down, as Iran and the U.S. have tried to assert control over the strategic channel, imposing separate blockades.

Iran and Oman said on Tuesday that they discussed “a joint temporary navigational corridor” through the strait and agreed to clear it of mines.

“I am hopeful we will soon announce a temporary corridor for the Strait of Hormuz and practical arrangements to restore safe navigation,” Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi posted on X following talks with his Iranian counterpart.

U.S. President Donald Trump — who has threatened to bomb Oman — repeated an earlier assertion that all mines in the strait had been cleared, and warned Iran against trying to lay any more.

Iran denounces US sanctions push

Though active hostilities between the U.S. and Iran have largely subsided, diplomatic efforts to reach a peace deal have stalled, and continuing attacks on ships mean passage through the Strait of Hormuz remains perilous.

Iran announced a blacklist on Sunday of 45 ships in an apparent effort to stop ship-to-ship transfers used by Gulf energy producers to evade the Iranian blockade. Some companies plan to stop using vessels added to the blacklist, sources said.

In an effort to tighten pressure on Iran’s economy, the United States earlier this week threatened to punish countries that continue to do business with Iran, but said it would not impose penalties immediately.

The sanctions did not feature Chinese financial institutions suspected of facilitating oil exports from Iran that the U.S. blockade has cut.

Iran denounced the U.S. effort to isolate its economy as an act of “gross lawlessness”, expressing confidence that many countries would not join the pressure campaign.

On Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi stressed the need to boost cooperation with China during a meeting with Iran’s ambassador to Beijing, Iranian state media reported.

Oil prices fell for a third day, dropping more than $2 a barrel to a two-week low, following signs of renewed efforts to seek a mediated end to the war that began on February 28 with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran.

Despite ongoing tensions, the U.S. is beginning to send personnel back to some diplomatic missions in the Middle East that were evacuated or downsized amid tensions with Iran, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The move suggests Washington sees a lower risk of the conflict with Iran escalating in the near term, though some embassies will initially operate below full capacity.

US reportedly not planning new strikes for now

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told allies that the U.S. did not expect to launch new strikes against Iran for now, and would instead focus on other means of pressure, Axios reported.

Separately, the U.S. Secret Service said on Tuesday that it was aware of a video broadcast by Iranian state television discussing a potential plot to assassinate Trump’s youngest son, Barron.

U.S. public approval of the war has fallen to its lowest level since the conflict’s early days, and Trump’s popularity is likewise at a record low ahead of congressional elections in November, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling.

Thousands of people have died in the conflict, most of them in Iran and Lebanon, while the U.S. and Israel have degraded much of Iran’s conventional military capacity. The exact state of its nuclear programme, which the U.S. and Israel aim to dismantle, remains unknown.

Iranian army spokesman Brigadier General Mohammad Akrami-Nia said new equipment had been delivered to combat units and fighting against two technologically advanced militaries had provided Iran’s forces with significant battlefield experience, according to comments carried on Wednesday by Iran’s Mehr News.