Iran says military vessels barred from Hormuz transit deal
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Iran said on Wednesday that military vessels would not be allowed to transit through the Strait of Hormuz under a potential agreement being negotiated with Oman to manage commercial shipping through the strategic waterway.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi told state television that Tehran and Muscat had reached a potential arrangement under which commercial vessels entering the Persian Gulf would pass through Iranian waters.
Outbound shipping would travel partly through Iranian waters and partly through Omani waters, he said.
Gharibabadi said the proposed routes were temporary and that Iran and Oman would need to negotiate a permanent maritime traffic plan within 30 to 60 days. He stressed that the arrangement would not permit military vessels to use the designated routes.
The Strait of Hormuz, a vital global shipping route, has remained largely closed to regular traffic nearly six months after the outbreak of the war involving Iran, raising concerns over freedom of navigation and regional energy supplies.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani was expected to visit Tehran on Thursday for talks with Iranian officials.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said the discussions would focus on ways to de-escalate regional tensions and create conditions conducive to dialogue. The talks are also expected to address freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and efforts to restore the pre-war situation.
The developments come as U.S. President Donald Trump said he was in no hurry to resume talks with Iran, telling Al Jazeera that he saw no fixed timetable for ending the conflict.
“I have no time schedule; whatever it takes,” Trump said, as the war approaches its six-month mark.
Trump also claimed that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei was seriously wounded but alive. Khamenei succeeded his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the beginning of the war, according to the report.