Iran says agreement on Strait of Hormuz at ‘final stage’

Iran said on Wednesday it is in the “final stage” of drafting an agreement with Oman over the Strait of Hormuz, following US President Donald Trump saying a deal could be announced this week.

The deal could reopen the critical waterway, but the agreement is likely to be contingent on the US lifting its blockade on Iran’s ports.

The Trump administration has previously ruled out any deal that would cement Iran’s grip over the strait.

Iran has insisted on some measure of control over the strait, saying it will not go back to being an open international waterway, as it was before the war.

Closure of the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil and natural gas once passed, has driven up the price of fuel and basic goods, roiling the global economy.

Mr Trump is also under mounting pressure to end an unpopular war ahead of US congressional elections.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said the agreement with Oman is in the “final stage” of drafting and that a joint statement will be issued “if certain parties do not obstruct this process,” apparently referring to the US

The draft deal to reopen the strait was awaiting final approval from Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, two regional officials told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Mr Khamenei is believed to have been wounded in the war’s opening strikes and has not been seen in public since then.

The officials portrayed the potential deal as a temporary solution to the dispute over the strait. They said it is tied to an agreement reached between the US and Iran in June, which aimed at ending the fighting and reopening the waterway but ultimately collapsed.

They said the potential deal will pave the way for the US and Iran to resume negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear programme.

Earlier, they said the potential agreement would have ships enter the Persian Gulf through an Iranian-controlled route and exit through a route controlled by Oman. Service fees would be charged for providing security and preserving the maritime environment.

The US has said it is strongly opposed to any arrangement that would see Iran charge fees.

Mr Trump was asked on Tuesday evening by reporters about a report that an announcement on the strait could be made on Wednesday.

“It could happen. Tomorrow or the next day,” Mr Trump said. “A lot of progress has been made.”

Vice President JD Vance acknowledged on Wednesday that it can seem like the US is not making progress in Iran, describing the effort to end the war as “messy” and that “it’s going to take some time”.

Mr Vance told Fox News the Iranians are “extraordinarily difficult people” and that efforts to try to resolve the war sometimes require moving backward before moving forward.

The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed on Wednesday they had fired ballistic missiles towards a Saudi oil tanker on the Red Sea off the Saudi port of Yanbu, without providing evidence. There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia.

A vessel sailing in the Gulf of Aden off Yemen reported a loud explosion that happened in close proximity, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said on Wednesday, adding that the crew was safe.

The Houthis claimed to have fired a ballistic missile at another Saudi oil tanker.