Entering via the Northern Route, Leaving via the Southern: 'Iran and Oman Will Collect Payment in the Strait of Hormuz'
According to a report in The New York Times, Iran and Oman are nearing an agreement to manage traffic in the Strait of Hormuz without US involvement. The agreement is expected to include a northern route for entry and a southern route for exit, a 'service fee' payment, and equal revenue sharing between the two countries. An American official denies the Iranian version, and Trump has promised that traffic will resume.
The New York Times reported this morning (Tuesday) that Iran and Oman are nearing an agreement that would open the Strait of Hormuz to vessel traffic without US involvement. According to the report, the agreement is expected to come at a heavy price: the international waterway would no longer be open to all, and would be under the control of Tehran and Muscat. Sources familiar with the details described that vessels entering the Gulf would use the northern route, close to the Iranian coast, while those leaving would use the southern route, close to Oman. The fact that Iran and Oman would gain a controlling status over the strait would also entail usage fees. Iranian sources told the Times that they do not plan to collect tolls, but they do plan to collect another payment branded as a 'service fee' to cover environmental impact and tanker security, with revenues split equally between the two countries. An American official said the Iranian version is inaccurate, and that any temporary route would not require permits from Iran nor incur fees. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US would not accept any agreement that does not restore the status quo, and warned of a dangerous precedent of a state controlling an international waterway. President Trump claimed yesterday that the strait could open 'very soon', and that the first phase is opening the strait and the second is denuclearization. Trump declared that talks with Iran are 'taking place now' at its request, and that 'this is their last chance before we cut off their heads.' He also claimed that the canceled strikes were expected to be 'the most extensive since World War II.' The Iranians, for their part, are adopting threatening rhetoric: Ibrahim Rezaei, a member of the National Security Committee, said that 'Iran's capabilities and those of the resistance front are greater than in the past,' while President Masoud Pezeshkian sent a more conciliatory message, saying that 'Iran defends its borders but does not seek to expand the war.'