Iran Cooperates with Oman to Build a Temporary Route through the Strait of Hormuz

Strait of Hormuz. (Wikimedia Commons/Ali khodabakhsh)

JAKARTA - Iran is working with Oman to build a temporary route in the Strait of Hormuz to ensure safe navigation through the strategic waterway, instead of talking to the United States.

Speaking at a press conference, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Tehran's talks with Muscat aimed to establish a temporary shipping route through the strategic waterway.

"Our current discussions with Oman focus on ensuring safe passage for ships in the Strait of Hormuz," Baqaei said, according to the semi-official Fars news agency, quoted by Anadolu (3/8).

"We are working to establish a temporary route, in cooperation with Oman, as soon as possible, so that we can ensure the safety of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz," he added.

Furthermore, Baqaei said the discussion centered on the establishment of a temporary navigation corridor that takes into account the interests of both coastal countries by combining the southern route through the waters of Oman and the northern route through the territorial waters of Iran into a two-way transit corridor.

"The current discussion is about a two-way corridor, not two or three separate routes," he said, adding that "temporary routes" would remain in place until a permanent alternative was found.

On the same occasion, Baqaei rejected reports about negotiations between Tehran and Washington, saying: "We are not negotiating with the United States."

Earlier, US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that talks with Iran would resume on Monday afternoon, expressing optimism that an agreement on the Strait of Hormuz and Iran's "denuclearization" could be reached soon.

Baqaei also said the situation in the Strait of Hormuz "will not change as long as the United States continues to carry out acts of aggression and blockade."

It is known that the Uncle Sam State and the Mullah State attacked each other on July 8-24, with Washington attacking targets inside Iran, while Tehran retaliated by targeting what they called US military facilities and equipment in several Arab countries, especially Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait.

This escalation came after the memorandum of understanding signed by President Trump and President Masoud Pezeshkian on June 18 and the start of negotiations towards a final agreement with the holding of the Lake Lucerne Summit on June 21.

Talks then stalled over differences over security guarantees and freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most strategic routes for global energy supplies and trade.