Iran says Oman deal is in 'final stages' but US must act to open Hormuz

DUBAI/WASHINGTON/CAIRO, August 10 ------ Iran said that a deal with Oman defining new shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz was in its final stages but reiterated that the waterway would only reopen once the United States met other conditions.

A US official told Reuters on Friday that an agreement between Iran and Oman was close and could soon reopen the waterway, which carried a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before Iran blocked it in response to US and Israeli attacks.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Sunday an agreement on the strait that lies between the two countries was in the "final stages" but repeated comments made on Saturday that it would not reopen it unless other conditions were met. The agreement would set out the new shipping lanes to be used once the US fulfills those conditions and the strait is reopened, Iran's Mehr news agency quoted him as saying. Iran and the US are not engaged in talks and Tehran will not start them as long as Washington breaches an interim deal signed in June, Araqchi said, adding that messages are being exchanged via intermediaries.

US President Donald Trump said in an interview with Axios that the US was "low-keying" it with Iran. "We are only semi-negotiating with them. We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money."

Iran seeks US compensation and end to sanctions

The United States began air strikes on Iran in late February saying it aimed to ensure the Islamic Republic could not acquire nuclear weapons or threaten the region with missiles or proxies. It agreed a ceasefire with Iran in June, but reimposed a blockade on Iranian shipping in the Gulf in July, which Tehran said was a violation of the truce that had already broken down."Once the deal is announced to restore commercial shipping without impediments, the United States will lift the blockade of Iranian ports," the US official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

US actions would be tied to Iran's implementation of its commitments, the official said. The US comments indicated delicate sequencing towards a deal that sources had told Reuters appeared to be set to give Tehran control over ships entering the Gulf through the strait, something shippers said was not easily workable. The latest status of the agreement was not clear and Iran's response suggested other factors would also come into play.

Source: gmanetwork.com