Tehran has assured in recent days that it has agreed with the sultanate whose coasts also border the strait on a transit route for ships but Oman has not yet spoken publicly.
The Islamic Republic has blocked this strategic sea route since the start of the conflict, and regularly targets ships venturing there without its authorization.
Tehran refuses to return to the pre-war situation and intends to eventually impose service fees, which the United States firmly opposes.
The negotiations “are taking place in a positive and constructive atmosphere,” the Omani Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Saturday. Without naming Iran, he condemned “repeated attacks” and called for refraining from any action that could compromise the diplomatic process.
An oil tanker from the Emirati national company Adnoc was the target of a missile attack in the Strait of Hormuz, without causing any casualties, the United Arab Emirates announced, blaming the attack on Iran.
Adnoc said Friday that 15 of its boats had been targeted in the strait since the start of the war at the end of February, including three this week alone.
The British maritime agency UKMTO, for its part, reported on Saturday that a ship had been hit by “a projectile of unknown origin” in the Strait of Hormuz, causing a fire.
“No environmental impacts have been reported. The crew is safe and sound,” she added in a statement, without specifying whether it was the same ship as that mentioned by the Emirati authorities.
“Own mechanism”
Iran, which has not commented on these attacks, for its part estimated that discussions with Oman were “approaching their final phase”, according to its head of diplomacy Abbas Araghchi. While an announcement had been expected for several days, he cited “technical problems” to justify this delay.
The outcome of the negotiations “does not of course mean that Hormuz will reopen,” however, reiterated the minister. He mentioned other “conditions and compensation” to be discussed, while Tehran is demanding in particular the lifting of the American blockade of Iranian ports.
“The reopening of the strait follows its own mechanism and has nothing to do with the negotiations between Iran and Oman,” added the Revolutionary Guards, a powerful Iranian armed force, calling on the enemy “to refrain from interfering.”
American President Donald Trump, who alternates between threats of massive strikes and promises of a diplomatic breakthrough, for his part said on Thursday that he hoped to soon reopen Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s hydrocarbons passed before the conflict.
An Iranian-Omani agreement would pave the way for a relaunch of dialogue between Tehran and Washington to put a lasting end to the war, triggered by the American-Israeli offensive on Iran on February 28.
A previous protocol in this conflict, which has left thousands dead and shaken the world economy, was signed in June. And, a major breakthrough, it allowed the resumption of traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
But the improvement was short-lived: hostilities recommenced at the beginning of July after attacks on ships, shattering the agreement.
However, American bombings have stopped for more than a week, as have the retaliatory strikes carried out by Iran against Washington’s allies in the region, from the Gulf to Jordan.
