Iran and Oman near agreement on temporary Hormuz shipping route

Iran and Oman are close to finalising an agreement on new commercial shipping arrangements through the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said in an interview with IRNA published on 3 November. The temporary northern and southern routes would be replaced by a single route passing through Iranian territorial waters for two to four months.

Gharibabadi said the two sides had reached in-principle agreement on almost all issues, including the entry and exit route map, after more than three weeks of consultations. They have consensus on the geographic coordinates and are now finalising a joint statement. He stressed that the potential agreement does not mean the strait would be fully reopened. Reopening still depends on the United States meeting Iran’s conditions.

Conditions and recent diplomacy

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei has said Tehran could implement its full plan within two days and restore security in the strait if its demands are met. Those demands include the lifting of sanctions and the release of frozen Iranian assets. A seven-step plan was earlier compressed into a two-day timetable. Qatari mediators have been involved; a Qatari delegation visited Tehran in recent days.

The United States carried out limited strikes on Qeshm Island on 2 November. US officials described the action as defensive. Iranian media reported explosions on the island and in Bandar Lengeh. Commercial traffic remains near a standstill. IMF PortWatch recorded only two transits on 25 October against a pre-crisis average of about 85 per day. More than 100 vessels have been holding position in the Gulf and nearby waters.

What the temporary route would change

Under the outline described by Gharibabadi, ships would follow a single corridor through Iranian waters for a limited period. The arrangement would replace the current northern and southern tracks. Details of inspection, insurance and exact coordinates have not been published. Oman has not issued a separate public confirmation of the near-final status of the talks.

Baghaei has repeated that the ball is in Washington’s court. A recent letter from US Vice President JD Vance to Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, did not launch a new initiative, according to Iranian officials. Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf remains Iran’s lead negotiator.

Open questions

No joint statement has been released. The two-to-four-month duration is the only time frame given. Whether the temporary route would allow meaningful volumes of oil and LNG to move, or whether insurers would accept the new corridor, is not addressed in the public remarks. The US has not commented on the specific route proposal.

The verified development is Gharibabadi’s statement that an in-principle agreement with Oman on a temporary single route is close, while full reopening remains conditional on American acceptance of Iran’s demands. Traffic data continue to show the strait operating far below normal levels.