Iran would gain control over shipping entering the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz under a deal being negotiated with Oman — the single biggest concession to Tehran since the war began in February.
A senior Iranian source and two regional officials told Reuters Wednesday that the text on the table already envisages Iranian control of inbound vessels, with the main sticking point being how far that authority extends to ships heading out of the Gulf. All three played down US President Donald Trump's insistence that an agreement to reopen the waterway is imminent.
"The concession has already been made regarding some form of control over Hormuz," one regional source said. The second said the definition of control remained unsettled, with Gulf negotiators pressing for regional supervision of ship inspections and for any transit fees to be voluntary.
Tehran confirmed later that a route had been agreed. Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the geographical co-ordinates had been settled and a joint statement was in final drafting, provided third parties did not obstruct it. Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi told IRNA that commercial ships would pass through Iranian territorial waters on both the inbound and outbound legs, and that the two sides had reached fundamental understandings on the maps. "This progress is on the verge of being finalised," he said.
But Iranian officials briefing local media stressed that any reopening depends on Washington ending its naval blockade of Iranian ports. Baqaei said the factors making the strait unsafe remained on the American side, singling out the blockade and other actions against Iran's interests.
Washington has said repeatedly that it will not accept any arrangement handing Iran control of the world's most important artery for energy supplies. There was no immediate US response to the proposed terms.
Fees remain the sharpest of the unresolved questions. Iran is seeking between 5% and 7% of the value of cargoes passing through the strait, according to the senior Iranian official.
Oman has floated around 3%. Washington wants none. Making payment nominally voluntary could offer a way out, though the implied threat of Iranian attack would leave few shippers willing to test it.
Any agreement conceding Iran a role at the gate would mark a decisive shift in the regional balance of power in Tehran's favour. Before the war the strait was open to all shipping without charge, and carried roughly a fifth of the world's oil and LNG exports. Iran has held de facto control since the US and Israel launched their offensive on February 28, insisting vessels hug its coastline; many have run the southern route close to Oman instead, and some have come under fire.
Military pressure has failed to loosen that grip. A two-week campaign of strikes in July did not dislodge Iranian forces, and US commanders advised Trump that stocks of some munitions were running low, with the army having used up nearly all its long-range precision missiles. Trump, who promised that Operation Epic Fury would end in Iran's unconditional surrender, now faces an electorate opposing the war two-to-one.
He told Fox News that talks were moving along nicely and that an all-day negotiation had taken place on Tuesday, adding that the strait would be open very soon. At the weekend he called off "massive attacks" on Iran, citing the negotiations — a pattern repeated throughout the conflict. Tehran denies it is talking to Washington at all.
Oil prices edged lower Wednesday, having ticked up after Yemen's Houthis said they had fired on a Saudi-flagged tanker in the Red Sea. Crude has fallen sharply over two days since Trump called off fresh strikes.
At the United Nations, deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said no first-hand information had been received about a reopening, but encouraged the parties towards a negotiated solution.
"The devil is in the details," an Iranian source said. "A single tweet from Trump could cause the whole thing to collapse."
