WASHINGTON, Aug 26 — Iran has agreed with Oman to establish a temporary seven-mile-wide transit route through the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Tuesday, Anadolu Ajansi reported.
He stressed that the arrangement does not amount to reopening the strategic waterway.
Speaking in an interview with Iranian television, Gharibabadi said the agreed route would run through Iranian territorial waters on entry, with part of the exit route also passing through Iranian waters.
“The agreed-upon width of the transit route with Oman in the Strait of Hormuz is seven miles,” Gharibabadi said, describing the route as a temporary arrangement.
He said Iran and Oman would hold further negotiations, which are expected to last between 30 and 60 days, to determine a permanent route and future arrangements for managing passage through the strait.
“The Strait of Hormuz is closed, and we have complete control over it,” he said, dismissing claims that ships were already passing through the waterway.
According to Gharibabadi, activating the joint route agreed with Oman would also mean closing the southern passage. He said the two countries had agreed to begin technical negotiations on an alternative to the historical route.
Gharibabadi said Iran considered the strait a matter of national security and had the right to take measures it deemed necessary to protect its interests.
The official also said Iran did not trust Washington and that any return to diplomacy would require the United States to first fulfil its commitments under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding.
“Before any action to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the US must fully implement all of its violated commitments,” he said.
“The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz will only take place in exchange for an end to the war on all fronts, the lifting of the blockade, and a resolution of Yemen’s status.”
