Iran says deal with Oman on Strait of Hormuz agreed in principle

A vessel is anchored off the coast of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates on Aug. 3, 2026. Photo by AFP via Getty Images

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The wait for an Iran-Oman deal that partially reopens the Strait of Hormuz continued into Thursday morning, after the Islamic Republic said an agreement on proposed shipping lanes was in the final stages.

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The two countries that border the crucial waterway have been negotiating a plan for the management of maritime traffic through the strait since last month. In recent days, Iran and the U.S. have indicated a resolution is close.

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“An understanding in principle has been reached on almost all the raised issues, including the map for maritime traffic entry and exit routes,” Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said to the Islamic Republic News Agency on Tuesday.

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Yet, he cautioned a bilateral deal with Muscat “does not mean the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.” Tehran has insisted the U.S. is not part of the agreement with Oman and hinted that a normalization of the strait will depend on Washington lifting its blockade on Iranian ports.

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U.S. President Donald Trump repeated late Tuesday that a deal regarding the strait is imminent and that his administration is in contact with Iran. “We are talking. Let’s see what happens,” he said at a rally in Las Vegas.

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The president has claimed diplomatic breakthroughs in the past, only for a lasting agreement to prove elusive.

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The waiting pattern was reflected in oil markets, where prices swung between small gains and losses as traders assessed the likelihood of a speedy increase in oil flows from the Persian Gulf. Brent crude traded up slightly to US$79.60 a barrel on Thursday.

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Any deal for the Strait of Hormuz would have to be approved by Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has been in hiding since being injured in the initial attacks of the war by the U.S. and Israel, in February. It’s unclear if he’s given his consent yet and Iranian officials have said that communicating with him takes time.

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President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a televised interview on Wednesday that communication with Khamenei has become “very difficult at the moment.”

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The developments follow months of deadlock between Washington and Tehran over how to conclude the war, with control over shipping a particular sticking point. Tehran has demanded that vessels obtain its permission to cross and possibly pay fees of some kind. It has continued to attacked ships it deems to be in violation in recent weeks.

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Fighting between the sides has largely paused for now, but a number of other issues remain unresolved. The deal on Hormuz may enable them to get back to the negotiating table to address Iran’s nuclear program.

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While visible traffic through the strait has been limited, a few millions of barrels a day have continued to cross the waterway even in recent weeks.