Iran and Oman have agreed on a route map intended to guide vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said. The two coastal states reached the arrangement after weeks of technical discussions focused on maritime safety in the strategic passage.
Baghaei said the latest three weeks of exchanges delivered positive progress, while a Saudi Gazette account placed the talks within a three-month process begun after a June 18 memorandum of understanding. Iranian foreign, defence, security and environmental bodies participated in preparing the route, according to his account.
Negotiations have not completely concluded. Tehran and Muscat were still working through other matters, including language for a statement from both governments. Baghaei described the navigation plan as separate from those outstanding questions and as a bilateral mechanism designed to protect passage while respecting the sovereignty of Iran and Oman.
The Iranian spokesperson also tied a complete return to normal commercial traffic to a broader dispute with Washington. He argued that US maritime sanctions, military activity and what Tehran calls a naval blockade still prevented a complete restoration of security. He said the United States must address alleged breaches of its commitments. These positions were Iranian claims; the supplied evidence did not include a US response.
The shipping disruption has coincided with a pronounced contraction in Iranian trade. An Iranian trade official reported that non-oil imports and exports were each down about 30% from March 21 through July 22, the opening four months of the fiscal year. Chinese records showed commerce with Iran below $823 million from March through June, around one quarter of the corresponding year-earlier level. Available figures also indicated large declines in trade with Turkey and India, although Indian purchases from Iran moved in the opposite direction.
Transport costs increased as routes became harder to use. Iran-China Chamber of Commerce chairman Majidreza Hariri said moving goods from China to Iran by land or sea cost four times its prewar level, with an individual container reaching $13,000. Iran has curtailed publication of detailed customs figures since the war began, limiting a complete assessment.
The Strait lies at the centre of both the practical shipping effort and the political disagreement. The Iran-Oman map establishes a proposed path for vessels, but Baghaei's remarks indicate that implementing an agreement between the neighbours does not itself settle the sanctions, blockade or security disputes affecting normal traffic.
India's pharmaceutical supply relationship with Iran was also affected. Iran's health minister said India had paused shipments of raw materials and conditioned their return on safe passage for Indian vessels. The account presented this as another example of shipping insecurity spilling into ordinary trade, alongside higher container costs and lower bilateral volumes.
