Foreign minister Abbas Araghchi told Iran’s cabinet that the talks were “on the way to being finalised,” according to a Telegram post cited by Al Jazeera. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Tehran and Muscat were close to an understanding on a new maritime route through Hormuz, separate from the existing shipping corridors.
The details of the route were not immediately clear, but the broad outline matters. The Strait of Hormuz handles about 20 percent of global oil consumption in normal conditions, and any change to how ships move through it can quickly ripple through energy markets and diplomacy alike. Iran and Oman both border the waterway, giving each side a direct stake in the shape of any future arrangement.
Baghaei framed the effort as a compromise solution. He said the two countries were aiming for a route acceptable to both sides, one that respected sovereignty and national security. At the same time, he stressed that the understanding would not decide whether the strait itself was “reopened or remains closed,” reflecting Tehran’s effort to separate route management from the larger political and military struggle around Hormuz.
The diplomatic push comes after a period of fighting and counter-fighting that has repeatedly disrupted shipping confidence. The Al Jazeera report says the waterway has effectively remained under Iranian control since the outbreak of war, and that a June ceasefire collapsed within weeks amid disputes over shipping routes before fighting resumed in July. That timeline helps explain why any new arrangement would be seen not just as a maritime fix, but as part of a larger attempt to stabilize regional trade.
The United States has also entered the picture. President Donald Trump said on Truth Social that he had agreed to cancel a planned attack, subject to a rapid deal that would include the “Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT” and an end to Iran’s nuclear threat. Tehran and other Middle Eastern states had asked him to hold off, according to the report.
That warning and the Omani talks are happening in parallel, not in sequence. Oman did not immediately comment on the latest Iranian remarks, but Muscat has been a recurring venue for back-channel diplomacy and for efforts to keep the sea lane functional. Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, separately described a memorandum of understanding with the US as a possible cornerstone for future foreign relations, though the reporting suggests the Hormuz issue remains the central unresolved point.
For now, the only clear takeaway is that Tehran and Muscat are still talking. Whether that produces a practical shipping route, a political understanding or simply another temporary framework will matter well beyond the Gulf. Any deal affecting Hormuz would touch oil exports, shipping insurance, and the already fragile balance between deterrence and de-escalation in the region.
