Oman and Iran discussed ways to resume freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. As Iran, after the war, designated the existing route as a danger zone and demanded the use of a "safe route" that passes through its territorial waters, talks continue over the principles of transit through the strait.
Oman's state news agency ONA said on the 24th (local time) that Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Albusaidi, Oman's foreign Minister, discussed the issue of transit through the Strait of Hormuz with a delegation from Iran's Foreign Ministry.
According to the report, Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran's Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, visited Muscat, the Omani capital, that day and conveyed a verbal message from Abbas Araghchi, Iran's foreign Minister, to Minister Albusaidi.
ONA explained that Minister Araghchi's message was related to Iran-U.S. talks underway with Pakistan's mediation. It also said the message included ways for Oman and Iran to cooperate to resume freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz in a safe and sustainable manner.
The two sides also held a separate expanded meeting. The meeting reportedly discussed the principle of freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz under international law.
Vice Minister Gharibabadi wrote on the social network X (formerly Twitter), "The delegations of the two countries reviewed a set of principles governing the navigation of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz." He said these principles respect the security and sovereignty of the littoral states of the strait and take into account the application of international law.
The Strait of Hormuz is so narrow that there are no high seas. The northern waters fall within Iran's territorial waters, and the southern waters belong to Oman's territorial waters. Until it was closed by the war, shipping routes mainly passed through Oman's territorial waters.
However, Iran has now designated the existing route as a "danger zone." Instead, its position is that transit must proceed via a so-called "safe route" that passes through its own territorial waters.