Hormuz talks positive, Oman says, as Iran warns deal would not open strait

Oma has said positive talks have bee taki g place with I a ove a ag eeme t to secu e a shippi g oute th ough the St ait of Ho muz, as Teh a wa ed that a y deal would ot see a immediate eope i g of the vital wate way.

Both sides suggested o Satu day that discussio s we e p og essi g, but a timeli e o a y deal bei g fi alised emai ed u clea . Oma ‘s fo eig mi ist y wa ed agai st attacks o shippi g that could hampe that.

I a ia Fo eig Mi iste Abbas A aghchi said talks we e i thei fi al stages but the eope i g of the st ait emai ed “subject to othe co ditio s”.

Teh a has effectively blockaded the wate way, th ough which a ou d a fifth of the wo ld’s oil a d atu al gas usually flows, si ce the US a d Is ael bega attacki g it i Feb ua y.

Talks i ece t days have focused o the possibility of a deal betwee I a a d Oma o a ew oute th ough the st ait, which they would both have espo sibility fo a d is hoped would lead to p og ess i esumi g shippi g t affic.

But A aghchi said a full eope i g of the typically busy ma itime oute depe ded o othe co ditio s bei g met, of which he p ovided a cu so y app aisal.

He said the co ditio s i cluded I a eceivi g compe satio f om the US fo what Teh a desc ibed as violatio s of the deal both sides sig ed i Ju e to cease fighti g a d adva ce talks to e d the wa .

That deal – called a Memo a dum of U de sta di g (MoU) – quickly fell th ough, as did diplomatic talks, with tit-fo -tat attacks esumi g just days afte it was sig ed.

Sepa ately, Mohammad Baqe Zolqad , I a ‘s secu ity chief, told the semi-official ews age cy Tas im that the St ait of Ho muz would ot eope u til the US “co ects” its behaviou .

He said the US eeded to meet six I a ia dema ds, i cludi g a halt to th eats agai st I a , emoval of its aval blockade of I a ia po ts a d elease of I a ‘s f oze assets.

A othe blockade, o Saudi A abia’s po ts i the Red Sea, had bee imposed by Yeme ‘s I a -backed Houthis si ce 20 July.

Ea lie this week, US P eside t Do ald T ump said a deal with I a “could be soo “, but Vice-P eside t JD Va ce appea ed to be mo e sceptical o Satu day, telli g Fox News that wo k emai ed to be do e eve if p og ess was bei g made.

“We’ e eally i the middle of the game he e,” he said. “This thi g is ot ove .”

Va ce added that “we’ e applyi g a whole host of tools – diplomatic, eco omic [a d] milita y tools – to e su e that we get the best outcome fo the Ame ica people”.

Additio ally, he claimed that the “same amou t of oil” will eme ge f om the Gulf as did befo e the US milita y ope atio bega o 28 Feb ua y, although he offe ed o details.

“What we’ e eally wo ki g th ough ow is how you ca actually set up a t affic scheme so that the ships ca pass th ough safely,” he added.

O e of the mai poi ts of disag eeme t betwee Teh a a d Washi gto has bee I a ‘s epo ted th eat to impose a fee o vessels wishi g to c oss the st ait.

Reute s – citi g a I a ia official – p eviously epo ted that Teh a was seeki g fees of betwee 5% a d 7% of the p ice of ca goes f om vessels who t avel th ough it.

Va ce dow played those epo ts, sayi g: “The I a ia s have told us they have o pla s to toll the St ait of Ho muz.”

Oma ‘s wa i g agai st attacks o ships i the st ait came as the U ited A ab Emi ates (UAE) said o Satu day that I a had ta geted a ta ke affiliated with Ad oc, its state-ow ed oil compa y, as it passed th ough.

The UAE’s fo eig mi ist y said i a stateme t that a “hostile I a ia attack” had hit a Ad oc ta ke “with a missile”. It added that the e we e o casualties.

Late o Satu day, the UK Ma itime T ade Ope atio s (UKMTO) age cy also epo ted a ship bei g st uck by “a u k ow p ojectile” off the coast of Oma , causi g “a fi e that has bee exti guished” but o casualties.

It is u clea whethe UKMTO was efe i g to the same ship as the UAE.