Given the Technical and Legal Complexities, We Are Currently Talking About a Temporary Transit Line

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Tehran is very close to an agreement with Oman to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, calling the current traffic arrangement unacceptable and stressing the need for a new route. Speaking at a press conference at the Interior Ministry marking Journalists' Day, attended by President Masoud Pezeshkian and senior officials, Araqchi said talks with Oman on a new transit route are ongoing and nearly concluded. "The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz is conditional on other factors, including compensation for the U.S. violation of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, he said.

The minister noted that before U.S. interventions began in early July, ship traffic in the strait had recovered to 60% of pre-war levels, adding, "Violating the memorandum and weakening Iran's management role in the Strait of Hormuz is absolutely unacceptable. Araqchi said a temporary route is being worked out with Oman, explaining, The previous Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) in the Strait of Hormuz is no longer acceptable to Tehran. Ongoing talks with Oman focus on setting a temporary route that will form the basis for a permanent TSS after military and naval negotiations based on updated charts.

Given the technical and legal complexities, we are currently talking about a temporary transit line. This temporary arrangement will be used until a final settlement is reached. He added that discussions have been held between the two countries' land and naval forces based on existing charts, and the new route will be determined once those talks conclude, with technical and legal factors taken into account.