Diplomatic representatives of Iran and Oman have initiated preliminary contacts to study a possible regulation on navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. Currently, this strategic passage remains under absolute control of Tehran, which has vetoed the transit of cargo ships linked to the United States, Israel and other countries with which it has not yet reached bilateral transit agreements.
Oman plays a key role as a regional mediator and already acted as the main channel of communication between Washington and Tehran during the last rounds of nuclear talks between both countries.
According to a statement released by the official Omani news agency, the sultanate has confirmed the holding of a meeting "at the level of undersecretaries of Foreign Affairs" with the Iranian delegation and "in the presence of specialists from both sides."
In said note it is explained that "in the meeting the possible options to guarantee traffic through the Strait of Hormuz in the context of the current circumstances in the region were analyzed", alluding to the conflict unleashed after the start of the joint offensive by the US and Israel last February 28 and Iran's subsequent response.
The statement adds that "experts from both sides presented various ideas and proposals in this regard", without offering additional details about the content of those initiatives.
It is worth remembering that, on the night of last Saturday, the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, announced that preparations are being finalized for a "protocol" aimed at establishing "basic rules for the management of ship movement" in the strait, whose entry and exit access is located precisely in the Gulf of Oman.
Gharibabadi specified that "we are currently finalizing the draft of the protocol and, once it is internally complete, we will undoubtedly begin negotiations with the Omani side to reach a common protocol."
Hours before these statements, the Iranian Parliament, with an ultraconservative majority, had warned that the Strait of Hormuz will no longer be a free transit corridor, considering that its status has changed irreversibly after the outbreak of the war.
In this regard, "the Strait of Hormuz has become a strategic advantage for Iran in the new security conditions and will never again have the status it had before," stated the spokesman for the Parliament's Presidency, Abbas Goudarzi. The parliamentary official announced this week the start of legislative procedures to apply a navigation cost to ships crossing the strait, which must be paid in the Iranian national currency, the rial.