Iran Says Oman Deal on Strait of Hormuz Near Completion but Sets Steep Conditions for Reopening Waterway

Iran is nearing a bilateral agreement with Oman to establish new shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz, but Tehran warns the critical waterway will not reopen unless the U.S. meets steep demands. Iranian officials, including Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and security chief Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, demand that the U.S. lift its naval blockade, pay war damages, and remove sanctions. Meanwhile, maritime security remains volatile as the UAE accuses Iran of striking an ADNOC oil tanker with a missile, highlighting the ongoing disruption to a corridor that previously carried a fifth of global oil and gas.

Iran-Oman Strait of Hormuz deal

• ▪Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that the previously established shipping traffic separation routes through the Strait of Hormuz are no longer acceptable to Iran.
• ▪The Omani Foreign Ministry stated that maritime negotiations with Iran are proceeding in a positive and constructive atmosphere, while condemning repeated attacks on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
• ▪Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced that Iran and Oman are in the final stages of negotiating an agreement on a new legal framework and transit route for managing traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian conditions for waterway reopening

• ▪U.S. President Donald Trump stated that the United States is semi-negotiating with Iran and watching the country's high inflation and lack of money.
• ▪Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, demanded that the United States lift its naval blockade, permanently end the war, withdraw military forces, lift sanctions, unfreeze assets, and pay war damages before the Strait of Hormuz is reopened.
• ▪An anonymous U.S. official stated that the United States will lift its naval blockade of Iranian ports once a final agreement restoring commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz without impediments is announced.
• ▪Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Islamic Revolutionary Guard spokesperson Hossein Mohebbi stated that a deal with Oman will not automatically reopen the Strait of Hormuz without a separate agreement with the United States.

U.S.-Iran conflict origins

• ▪The United States and Israel launched air strikes on Iran on February 28, 2026, to prevent the Islamic Republic from acquiring nuclear weapons or threatening the region with missiles and proxies.
• ▪The United States and Iran agreed to a ceasefire in June 2026, but the United States reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian shipping in July 2026, which Tehran declared a violation of the truce.
• ▪U.S. Central Command stated that its forces have turned away 53 ships, disabled two vessels, boarded two others, and allowed more than 30 humanitarian aid ships through since the July 2026 blockade began.

UAE ship attack

• ▪The United Arab Emirates Foreign Ministry stated that Iran targeted a commercial vessel owned by Abu Dhabi's state-owned ADNOC oil and gas company with a missile in the Strait of Hormuz on August 8, 2026.
• ▪The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center reported that a vessel east of Khasab, Oman, caught fire on August 8, 2026, after being struck by an unknown projectile, though the crew and vessel were reported safe.

Global energy supply implications

• ▪The Strait of Hormuz carried approximately one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before Iran restricted traffic and blocked the waterway in response to U.S. and Israeli military actions.
• ▪The closure of the Strait of Hormuz and Iranian missile attacks on non-compliant vessels have severely disrupted global energy shipments, causing energy prices to surge and fueling global inflation.