Fresh regional tensions have underscored ongoing risks to global energy shipping, as Iran announced Wednesday it has reached a core agreement with Oman on a new transit route through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, with final arrangements for joint management of the waterway now in their last stages. Even as progress on the bilateral framework moves forward, Iranian officials have stressed that any full reopening of the critical chokepoint remains conditional on the United States lifting its naval blockade of Iranian ports.
Since the U.S. and Israel launched military operations against Iran on February 28, Tehran has held de facto control over the strait and has issued warnings that any vessels using transit routes it has not authorized will face threats. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed Iran is eager to negotiate a direct deal with Washington to reopen Hormuz, but Iranian officials have rejected this assertion, instead moving forward to finalize arrangements with Oman, its neighbor that borders the opposite side of the strait.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told reporters, per state news agency IRNA, that the two nations have already settled on the exact geographic coordinates for the agreed transit route. If no external parties interfere with the process, a joint formal statement outlining all key terms and consensus points is already in the final review and drafting stage, Baqaei added.
However, Baqaei clarified that even after a full bilateral understanding is reached, this will not automatically make the strait safe for all transiting vessels. “The factors making the Strait of Hormuz insecure still exist on the part of the United States, particularly the naval blockade and other aggressive and threatening actions against Iran and its interests,” he said.
The ongoing volatility in the region was highlighted Wednesday when the United Kingdom’s maritime security body UKMTA confirmed that the captain of an oil tanker reported two explosions near the vessel while transiting 9 nautical miles southeast of Kumzar, Oman. No injuries or damage to the crew or ship were reported.
In a separate development, Yemen’s Houthi movement announced it had attacked two Saudi oil tankers, marking the eighth and ninth such strikes since the group launched its own blockade of Saudi Arabia last month. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree stated that missiles hit the tanker Wafa near the Saudi port of Yanbu in the northern Red Sea, and the tanker Daisy in the Gulf of Aden. Saudi officials have not yet issued a public response to the attacks.
Before the outbreak of current hostilities, the Strait of Hormuz carried roughly one-fifth of all global oil and liquefied natural gas exports. Global energy prices have spiked repeatedly since the dispute over the waterway began, building significant economic and political pressure on the U.S. government.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance recently acknowledged Washington’s frustration with the slow pace of diplomatic progress with Iran, telling Fox News in a Wednesday interview that negotiations will likely take extended time due to internal divisions within Iran’s leadership. “It’s going to be messy and it’s going to take some time to get there,” Vance said. “The reality… is that number one, the Iranians are extraordinarily difficult people. Number two, they have a fractured system.”
Since imposing its effective de facto blockade of most existing transit routes, Iran has required all ships to use a narrow route along the Iranian coastline. However, a large number of commercial vessels have instead opted for a southern route near Omani waters, and several of these ships have come under attack in recent weeks.
Tehran is also seeking formal authority to control the strait and collect transit tolls, a set of powers it did not exercise before the current war, a shift that the U.S. has already stated it will strongly oppose.
In a pattern that has become familiar in recent weeks, Trump last week issued a sharp threat to strike Iran “very hard”, even suggesting attacks on civilian infrastructure, only to back away from the threat days later and hint that a deal with Tehran was close. But Iran’s foreign ministry has repeatedly denied that any direct negotiations are ongoing between Iran and the U.S.