Iran’s Araqchi to visit Oman as tensions with US persist, Hormuz crisis deepens

TEHRAN: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi will travel to Muscat on Tuesday for talks with his Omani counterpart, as diplomatic efforts to end the war with the United States remain stalled and tensions over the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz continue to threaten regional security.

Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported the visit on Sunday, citing Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei. Araqchi is expected to meet Oman’s Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi, although no further details of the agenda have been announced.

The visit comes amid renewed diplomatic activity over the maritime crisis and the conditions for resuming negotiations between Tehran and Washington. Oman has remained in contact with Iran over arrangements for restoring safe and uninterrupted navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.

Earlier, Bahrain said it intercepted and destroyed several Iranian aerial attacks, while Tehran said it had struck a US military base in the Gulf kingdom amid uncertainty over a deal to end the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Earlier, Yemeni forces fighting for the internationally recognised Saudi-backed government said on Sunday that they were withdrawing from an area overlooking the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait, leaving the Houthis in control.

In a telephone conversation on November 5, Albusaidi and Araqchi discussed diplomatic contacts aimed at reaching practical and technical understandings to resume unhindered shipping through the waterway. They also stressed the need to move beyond temporary de-escalation towards lasting arrangements to safeguard maritime traffic and prevent renewed conflict.

The planned meeting takes place against a backdrop of continued military confrontation. Bahrain said on Sunday that its air defences had intercepted several Iranian aerial attacks after the Revolutionary Guards claimed to have launched six drones at a US air-defence radar facility at the Al-Rifaa helicopter base, which hosts American forces.

Iran said the attack was retaliation for what it described as hostile US actions. Neither Washington nor Bahrain immediately confirmed that the drones had struck their intended target. Bahrain condemned Tehran’s actions and issued alerts urging residents to seek shelter.

The incident followed another Iranian drone attack claimed on Friday against a US early-warning radar facility in Bahrain. US Central Command said it had intercepted two drones without damage or injuries.

The latest exchanges have raised concerns that the conflict, which began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, could intensify again after periods of relative calm. US President Donald Trump has suggested he may refrain from further attacks if Iran does not launch new provocations, while Washington continues to maintain a naval blockade of Iranian ports.

Iran rejects prolonged state of ‘neither war nor peace’

Earlier, Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Sunday that Tehran would not allow the current situation of “neither war nor peace” to continue indefinitely, warning that any fresh US miscalculation could lead to a wider confrontation.

Addressing an open session of parliament, Ghalibaf said Iran was prepared for either negotiations or war and that an agreement remained possible if Washington accepted Tehran’s seven conditions.

“We do not care whether the US wants negotiations or war,” he said, adding that acceptance of Iran’s conditions would open the way for an agreement.

He warned that if the United States made another mistake, Iran’s armed forces would determine the geography of any future battlefield through their capabilities and resolve.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has also called for an end to the state of uncertainty, while reiterating that Tehran is prepared for negotiations based on what it describes as dignity, justice and equal conditions.

Ghalibaf’s remarks reflect Tehran’s insistence that any diplomatic settlement must address the military and economic measures imposed on the country, rather than focus solely on reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Seven conditions for negotiations

Iranian officials have repeatedly referred to seven conditions that Washington must accept before negotiations can move forward. Tehran, however, has not published an authoritative list, and different officials have described the demands in varying terms.

The conditions outlined in public statements broadly include an end to hostilities on all fronts, the lifting of US sanctions and the naval blockade of Iranian ports, the release of frozen Iranian assets and guarantees against further attacks.

Iran has also linked the restoration of commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to the broader negotiations, while insisting on retaining a role in arrangements governing navigation through the waterway.

Ghalibaf said earlier this week that Tehran had conveyed its position to Washington through a Qatari mediator and was awaiting a formal response.

On November 9, Iran defended a proposal to resume peace talks within two days, saying the United States should first lift its naval blockade and sanctions and agree to end the war on all fronts. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had dismissed some of Tehran’s demands as unacceptable.

Iran’s latest proposal also called for commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to resume within 48 hours if Washington lifted its blockade, ended hostilities on all fronts and unfroze Iranian assets abroad.

The dispute over the conditions has become a major obstacle to negotiations, with Washington unwilling to accept several of Tehran’s demands and Iran refusing to enter talks without addressing the blockade and sanctions.

Tehran accuses Washington of threatening to starve Iranians

Separately, Baghaei accused the United States of threatening to starve the Iranian population through its economic pressure and naval blockade.

In a statement posted on social media on Saturday, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson referred to remarks by Rubio that Iranians would eventually have to eat and would need to reach an agreement to end the economic pressure.

Baghaei described the remarks as an open threat to deprive Iranians of food and accused Washington of admitting to pursuing policies that amounted to war crimes.

He said decades of sanctions, threats, coercion and military aggression had failed to force Iran into submission, accusing the United States of repeating what he called failed policies under different names.

The US administration has maintained that its pressure campaign is intended to compel Tehran to accept terms for ending the conflict and restoring maritime security.

Pressure mounts on Gulf shipping routes

The confrontation over Hormuz is unfolding alongside developments in the Red Sea, where the Iran-aligned Houthis have gained ground near the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait after Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces announced their withdrawal from the area.

The developments have raised concerns over the security of two critical maritime chokepoints used for international trade and energy shipments. The Strait of Hormuz is a major route for Gulf oil exports, while Bab el-Mandeb connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and provides access to the Suez Canal.

Saudi-led coalition forces also said they had intercepted Houthi missiles and drones targeting Saudi Arabia, according to Reuters.

The simultaneous pressure on the two shipping routes could further complicate efforts by Gulf oil producers to maintain exports and increase the risks facing commercial vessels operating in the region.

The latest developments have placed renewed emphasis on diplomatic efforts to prevent a wider regional confrontation, with Araqchi’s planned visit to Oman providing another opportunity for consultations as the military standoff between Iran and the United States continues.