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Iran said it had reached an agreement with Oman on a proposed route for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a potential step toward a reopening of the critical waterway for energy supplies.
A joint statement from Tehran and Muscat is under review and in the final drafting stage, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told reporters on Wednesday, according to a post on Telegram. Negotiations between the two countries are “forward-moving” and a deal would be struck “if certain third parties do not obstruct this process,” he said.
Iran and Oman have been in discussions for several days about a management plan for the Strait of Hormuz, which has emerged as the focal point of the ongoing war between the US and the Islamic Republic. Baghaei didn’t mention any role for Washington, except to say the closure of the strait was a result of attacks by the US and Israel.
Read More: Bypass the Strait of Hormuz? Why That’s Not So Easy
The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment on the announcement. President Donald Trump said late Tuesday that a deal on the Strait of Hormuz is imminent. He has repeatedly claimed diplomatic breakthroughs in the past, only for a lasting agreement to prove elusive.
Oil held losses after Iran announced the agreement, raising the prospect of more energy flows resuming through the strait. Brent traded near $79 a barrel early Thursday, while West Texas Intermediate was around $75 after losing 11% in the week’s first three sessions.
Iran’s latest announcement on Hormuz comes after months of deadlock between the US and Tehran over how to conclude the war, with control over shipping through the waterway a particular sticking point. Tehran has demanded that vessels obtain permission to cross and pay fees to transit, and has attacked ships it deems to be in violation.
The US, in turn, has blockaded Iranian ports. The issue led to the collapse of a ceasefire and interim peace agreement last month.
While fighting between the sides has paused for now, a number of other issues remain unresolved — not least Iran’s nuclear program — and there hasn’t been an agreement to start formal negotiations.
Iranian state television earlier played down the outcome of the Iran-Oman discussions, citing a person familiar with the matter as saying an agreement between Tehran and Muscat would not necessarily mean the strait would open immediately. That would be contingent “on a change in US behavior,” according to the report.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi told state-run IRNA that Iran and Oman are negotiating a “temporary route” that would remain active for two to four months, with a significant portion of traffic passing through the Islamic Republic’s territorial waters. “This understanding does not mean the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.
Read More: GLOBAL INSIGHT: Talks, What Talks? Iran War Limbo
In a Fox News interview recorded Tuesday, Trump repeated a threat that if Iran doesn’t “make a deal, it’s going to be too bad.” Over the weekend, the president held off on attacks he said would have been the largest since World War II.
Trump told reporters in Los Angeles on Tuesday night that talks with Iran are “moving along very nicely,” adding, “We’ll know in 48 hours.”
Iran’s stance on Hormuz has complicated Trump’s efforts to turn the page on a war — now in its sixth month — that he had claimed would only take weeks. Shipping disruptions in Hormuz have raised energy prices globally and pose a particular threat to Trump and his Republican Party ahead of November’s midterm elections.
While visible traffic through the strait has been limited, millions of barrels a day have continued to cross the waterway even during periods of elevated hostility in recent weeks. Middle Eastern producers have ferried cargoes out of the Gulf as part of a shuttle program put in place by several countries in the region. Even if Hormuz reopens, some shuttling is likely to continue as shipowners weigh the risks of returning to the Persian Gulf.
Vice President JD Vance suggested on Fox News on Wednesday evening that rivalries within Iran itself have hindered the negotiations.
“They have a fractured system, so there are people within their system who want the war to be over. There are also people within their system who are crazy radicals who want the war to continue,” Vance said.
Separately, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a televised interview that his country was facing its “most difficult time since the Islamic Revolution.” He added that reaching Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was “very difficult right now.” Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen or heard publicly since succeeding his father, former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an airstrike when the war began.
(Updates with Brent prices; Vance and Pezeshkian, starting in fifth paragraph.)
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
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