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Deal with Oman would not mean reopening of Hormuz: Araghchi
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that a possible agreement expected to be reached with Oman on the Strait of Hormuz does not mean the reopening of the strategic waterway.
Araghchi in an interview with Al-Araby Al-Jadeed said that Iran’s condition for reopening the strait was the return of the United States to its commitments under the Islamabad memorandum of understanding.
Iran and Oman are set to sign a deal on a joint shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz today, during a meeting attended by Persian Gulf Arab foreign ministers.
Iran closed the energy chokepoint days after an American-Israeli aggression against the country on February 28.
In June, Tehran and Washington agreed on a 60-day reopening period as part of a Pakistan-mediated memorandum of understanding, but American violations forced Tehran to shut the waterway again.
Since the closure of the conduit, Iran and Oman, which sit on either side of the strait, have held several rounds of negotiations to regulate transit through the waterway. They have now reached an agreement on arrangements for transit through the strait from which a fifth of the world’s oil and gas is exported.
“We will provide the details of the agreement with Oman and the maps related to the new route to the participating countries,” Araghchi said.
The top diplomat also said Tehran believed responsibility for ensuring regional security and stability rested solely with the countries of the region.
“We hope these talks will pave the way for future consultations on issues of concern to the countries of the region,” he said.
Although the Strait of Hormuz remains the sole agenda item, Tehran believes that an increase in regional cooperation means that “the scope for interventions and imposed arrangements from outside the region will naturally decrease,” the foreign minister added.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei on Saturday described the Oman meeting as a key step toward securing stability and security in the Persian Gulf.
He said the decision to hold the meeting is the result of a process shaped by major events over the past six months.