Emerging usiran deal may cement Iran's Hormuz control
Iran and Oman are closing in on a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz that could ratify Tehran's control over a once-open waterway, according to The New York Times. The emerging usiran diplomacy clash—Trump claiming active talks while Iran denies direct U.S. negotiations—makes the corridor deal the clearest near-term shift.
Key Takeaways
- Iran and Oman are nearing a Hormuz reopening deal that could formalize Iranian control of inbound shipping lanes.
- Tehran proposes shared “service fees,” while a U.S. official says temporary routes need no Iranian approval or payments.
- President Trump calls current diplomacy Iran's “last chance”; Tehran says it is talking only with Oman.
- A reported 60-day window pairs corridor talks with renewed discussion of Iran's enriched uranium stockpile.
What would the emerging Hormuz deal actually change?
According to The New York Times, citing Iranian and American officials, inbound vessels would transit a channel near Iran's coast under Iranian control, while outbound ships would use a lane near Oman.
Before the war, the strait operated as an open international waterway. Iranian officials say they are designing the accord to keep strategic leverage they did not employ earlier.
Tehran told the Times it does not intend formal tolls, but would collect “service fees” for security and environmental protection, split equally with Oman. A U.S. official disputed that account, saying any temporary route would not require Iranian approval or payments.
Why does the usiran standoff matter for global shipping?
Iranian officials say the strait will stay closed until Washington lifts its naval blockade of Iranian ports and both sides return to the 14-point Islamabad memorandum.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has warned against a precedent in which a country controls an international waterway, charges a toll, and can strike ships that refuse. Some senior Pentagon officials view the emerging arrangement as capitulation, noting the Omani-side route remains heavily mined.
For President Trump, reopening would ease pressure by letting ships flow again. Track related risk coverage in our Future Tech & AI Wonders hub.
Are the U.S. and Iran really negotiating a ceasefire?
Trump told reporters talks are “going on right now” and framed them as Iran's “last chance” to sign a deal, after calling off what he described as massive strikes over the weekend. He cast Hormuz reopening as phase one, with nuclear talks as phase two.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Tehran is not negotiating with the United States and that its talks are with Oman on Hormuz passage. Trump later called Iranian leaders “unbelievably duplicitous,” insisting talks continue whether Tehran admits them or not.
The reported Iran-Oman framework gives the neighbors 60 days to negotiate reopening while the United States and Iran would resume discussions of Iran's roughly 11 tons of enriched uranium, including about half a ton near bomb-grade.