Proposed Strait of Hormuz deal would give Iran control of inbound traffic, sources say

DUBAI/RIYADH - A proposed deal between Iran and Oman to help end five months of war between Iran and the United States 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 Aug 5, one of the biggest concessions yet to Iran.

There was no immediate US comment on the proposal.

While President Donald Trump has said a deal reopening the strait is imminent, US officials have repeatedly insisted they would never agree to Iran controlling access to the world’s most important trade route for energy supplies.

An agreement that gives Iran authority over traffic through the strait would mean the war launched by the United States and Israel in February had resulted in a major shift in the balance of regional power in Tehran’s favour.

Before the war, the strait was freely open to all ships with no fees.

Amid a wider diplomatic effort in the region, Iran and Oman have been engaged in bilateral talks regarding the strait that they each control through northern and southern channels.

Iran reported “significant progress” in the talks and said both inward and outward journeys would pass through Iranian waters.

Meanwhile, Iran has warned Gulf states that any new US attack on its territory would trigger retaliation against critical energy infrastructure across the region, according to five sources, as Tehran seeks to raise the cost of military action by threatening Washington’s closest regional allies.

“The Iranian warning was unequivocal: if America targeted Iran’s infrastructure, they would retaliate by striking Gulf energy facilities and other regional targets,” one Gulf source said. Iran has been striking back with missiles and drones against Washington’s allies in the region, while also targeting commercial ships transiting the strait without its permission.

Unresolved issues

Regarding any deal between Iran and Oman, the regional and Iranian sources who spoke to Reuters cautioned that significant issues remained unresolved and also pushed back against suggestions from Trump that a deal reopening the strait was imminent.

“The concession has already been made regarding some form of control over Hormuz,” one of the regional sources told Reuters.

The other regional source said there were still details to be determined about how “control” would be defined, with Gulf negotiators insisting regional countries supervise inspections of ships, and that any payment of fees be voluntary.

According to the senior Iranian official, Iran is seeking fees of between 5 per cent and 7 per cent of the price of cargoes from ships using the strait.

Oman is discussing fees of around 3 per cent, while Washington wants no fees at all.

The senior Iranian source said the text of an agreement already on the table envisioned Iran having control of ships heading into the Gulf through the strait, and one of the main sticking points was what role Iran would also have over ships heading in the opposite direction.

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.”

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

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, while adding that no talks with the United States had been held in recent days.

Trump faces voter pressure

Trump, who at the start of the war said it would end in Iran’s “unconditional surrender” and with him approving the choice of its leader, has been under pressure to find a way out of a conflict that US voters oppose by two-to-one ahead of crucial midterm elections in November.

Months of US military efforts, including a two-week campaign of strikes in July, have not broken Iran’s grip on the strait.

US commanders advised Trump in July that they were running low on some munitions.

Reuters reported on Aug 4 that the US Army had used up nearly all of its long-range precision missiles.

Crude prices have plunged over the past two days after Trump called off renewed attacks on Iran, citing talks he said could end the conflict.

Prices edged lower on Aug 5, although losses were capped by a maritime embargo declared by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis on Saudi ports and vessels, heightening risks to Red Sea shipping.

The Houthis said on Aug 5 they had launched a missile attack on a Saudi oil tanker off the coast of the Red Sea port city of Yanbu and another missile attack on a Saudi oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden.

There was no Saudi confirmation on either incident. REUTERS