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A proposed deal between Iran and Oman could grant Tehran control over vessels entering the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, according to a senior Iranian source and two regional officials who spoke to Reuters on Wednesday, in what represents one of the most significant concessions made to Iran to date.
Despite the apparent shift towards accommodating Iranian demands, sources pushed back against assertions by US President Donald Trump claiming that an agreement to reopen the strategic passage was imminent, clarifying that crucial details remained to be finalised. "The concession has already been made regarding some form of control over Hormuz," one of the regional sources told Reuters. Meanwhile, oil prices ticked higher on Wednesday following announcements by the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen that it had fired on a Saudi-flagged tanker in the Red Sea, marking the latest strike in West Asia disrupting global energy supplies. However, global crude prices remain close to their lowest levels since early July, having dropped sharply over the past two days after Trump called off fresh attacks on Iran while citing new negotiations that he claimed could conclude the conflict. In the absence of direct diplomatic channels between Tehran and Washington, Iran has been negotiating through Oman, which controls the opposite coastline of the strait. Tehran had turned down an earlier Omani draft last week on the grounds that it offered Iran too little input. Speaking to Fox News overnight, Trump stated that discussions were "moving along nicely" and that "an all-day negotiation" had taken place on Tuesday. "The Strait of Hormuz is going to be open very soon," Trump added, warning, "If they back out again, they are going to get hit really hard." Over the weekend, Trump cited the ongoing talks as the rationale for deferring plans for "massive attacks" on Iran, repeating a pattern seen at various stages throughout the war. An agreement granting Iran any degree of control over access to the Strait would signify that the war launched by the United States and Israel had produced a major shift in the regional balance of power in Tehran's favour. Before the conflict, the waterway was freely open to all maritime traffic without fees. However, Trump, who initially declared that 'Operation Epic Fury' would end in Iran's "unconditional surrender", with him approving the choice of its leader, faces growing domestic pressure to find an exit from a conflict that polls show US voters oppose by a two-to-one margin. Periodic US military escalations have consistently been met by stronger responses from Iran and its regional proxies, including Houthi fighters who control much of Yemen and oversee a second critical shipping chokepoint at the mouth of the Red Sea. On Wednesday, the Houthis stated that they had again struck a Saudi tanker in the Red Sea in an effort to enforce what they describe as a blockade of Saudi petroleum exports using the primary bypass route around the Strait of Hormuz. Separately, Indian officials confirmed that a projectile sank an Indian-flagged vessel near Yemen on Tuesday. All 14 crew members, 13 of whom are Indian nationals, were successfully rescued. The southern-based Yemeni government, which opposes Houthi rule, attributed the attack to the Houthis. (ANI)
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