Iran's Revolutionary Guardians said on Wednesday they had agreed with Oman to share the benefits of taxes for sailing through the Strait of Hormuz.
“During the negotiations with Oman, some agreements were reached on which portion of each country’s waters belongs to the Strait and on which portion of the revenue belongs to Iran and Oman,” said Guardian spokesman Hosein Mohebi.
The spokesman accused the United States of "hindering" the work to reach an agreement in the negotiations between Iran and Oman, the two coastal states of the Strait of Hormuz.
Efforts to put an end to the war between Iran and the United States are stalled and a key point of disagreement is Tehran’s demand to charge ships for the passage through the Strait of Hormuz, a demand rejected by Washington.
Iran and Oman have been discussing the future of shipping on this sea route for weeks, and Tehran says the geographical coordinates of a route planned by both countries have been agreed.
Iranian authorities, however, have insisted that the strait will not be fully reopened until the United States meets Tehran’s demands, including the lifting of its naval blockade, the withdrawal of sanctions and the unlocking of Iranian assets abroad.
The chancellors of Iran and Oman met on Tuesday in Tehran to address the establishment of a temporary navigation corridor in the Strait of Hormuz and an agreement to launch a process of demining this important maritime passage.
Following the meeting between Iranian Chancellor Abbas Araqchi and his Omani counterpart, Badr al-Busaidi, the two countries said in a statement that the negotiations would continue in order to establish a “permanent navigation corridor and future administration of the Strait, as well as a mechanism for the exchange of information, traffic management and the provision of relevant navigation and security services.”
Iran has blocked this crucial maritime route, which normally transits approximately a fifth of world hydrocarbon exports, since the outbreak of the war with the United States on February 28.
Mohebi said Iran will only open the strait if the United States accepts Tehran’s demands.
