Iran says agreement reached with Oman on Strait of Hormuz shipping route map

TEHRAN — Iran has reached an agreement with Oman on a shipping route map for the Strait of Hormuz following weeks of technical negotiations aimed at establishing safe navigation through the strategic waterway, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Saturday.Baghaei told Defa Press that Iran and Oman, the two coastal states bordering the strait, began intensive negotiations three months ago following the signing of a June 18 memorandum of understanding aimed at establishing safe navigation routes.“Despite US obstruction, the talks have made positive progress over the past three weeks, and an agreement has been reached on the shipping route map,” Baghaei said.He said the plan resulted from coordination led by Iran’s Foreign Ministry with the participation of the country’s defense, security and environmental authorities.Baghaei said Tehran and Muscat were still negotiating outstanding issues, including the wording of a statement to be issued by the two sides, and that exchanges would continue until the process was finalized.He stressed that the Iran-Oman arrangement was an independent agreement between the two coastal states aimed at ensuring the safe passage of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz while preserving the sovereignty of both countries.Baghaei, however, said the full restoration of security in the strait and the resumption of normal commercial shipping depended on an end to what Tehran describes as illegal US actions, military threats and a naval blockade.He also said Washington must compensate for what Iran considers breaches of US commitments over the past two months.The talks are part of technical negotiations launched under the Iran-US memorandum of understanding, which tasked Tehran and Muscat with developing a new navigation framework for the Strait of Hormuz.While Iran and Oman have continued negotiations over shipping routes, Tehran has maintained that any decision to fully reopen the strategic waterway remains contingent on Washington fulfilling its obligations under the memorandum.