Trump officials pressure Oman to accept Iran’s terms on the Strait of Hormuz, says diplomat
As President Donald Trump’s war with Iran stretches on, negotiations over control of the Strait of Hormuz may be poised to give Iran a major concession.
A senior Middle East diplomat with direct knowledge of the talks between Iran and Oman told MS NOW on Tuesday that the U.S. and Europe are placing a great deal of pressure on Oman to accept a temporary agreement with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The senior Middle East diplomat told MS NOW on Monday that the current version of the temporary agreement, if finalized, would give Iran temporary control of both the inward and outward routes ships would use to sail through the strait.
“The discussions are focused on an inward route through the Strait of Hormuz that is entirely through Iranian territorial waters,” the senior Middle East diplomat told MS NOW, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe sensitive discussions.
“The outward route is largely through Omani territorial water, but there’s a section of it through Iranian water, and because of that section, temporary control will be with Iran,” the diplomat said.
Experts cautioned that it is difficult to evaluate the agreement until final details are made public. But they said the arrangement described by the diplomat would likely give Tehran greater control of the strategic waterway than it had before the war — something the Trump administration has vowed to prevent.
“It sounds like they would be thrilled,” said George Perkovich, a nuclear nonproliferation expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “That’s the leverage they need and want.”
Oman and Iran flank either side of what, during peacetime, is a key transit route for one-fifth of the world’s oil shipments.
Oman has long acted as a neutral mediator between the United States and Iran. But that role was strained in May when Trump threatened to “blow them up” and accused Oman and Iran of discussing charging fees for passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have previously said that Iran must not gain greater control of the strait than it had before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28. Rubio, in particular, has insisted that the Strait of Hormuz must remain an open international waterway not controlled by Iran or any other nation.
Rubio, speaking to reporters Tuesday at the State Department, said that there has been “progress made” in the talk regarding the strait but “not finality yet.” He also said the reopening of the strait would create a pathway for subsequent negotiations between Iran and the U.S. regarding Tehran’s nuclear program.
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Ian Sherwood is the director of international newsgathering for MS NOW, a former executive editor for NBC News and a former deputy Washington bureau chief for the BBC.
Inzamam Rashid is a MS NOW contributor and Monocle’s Gulf Correspondent based in Dubai. He has previously reported for Sky News and the BBC
David Rohde is the senior national security reporter for MS NOW and a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting. Previously he was the senior executive editor for national security and law for NBC News.
