Iran and Oman Discuss Strait of Hormuz Management Amid Ongoing Middle East Tensions

POLICY WIRE — Tehran, Iran — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has announced new sanctions targeting Iran’s trading partners, urging them to cut financial ties with the Islamic Republic or face retaliation from the United States. (AP Video: Nathan Ellgren)

The top diplomats of Iran and Oman convened on Tuesday to deliberate a phased strategy for managing ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been largely closed for nearly six months since the Iran war commenced. This meeting followed an attack that disabled an oil tanker off the coast of Oman, highlighting the persistent risks for shipping companies navigating the waterway under Iranian control.

Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi met with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, in Tehran to discuss a framework for managing ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. A joint statement from both nations outlined a proposed framework that includes a “joint temporary navigational corridor” and efforts to clear mines from the waterway. The statement also mentioned that Iran and Oman will continue technical negotiations to establish a permanent shipping corridor and an agreement on the future administration of the strait.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi informed state TV that the two countries had agreed on a temporary route. Inbound traffic from the Gulf of Oman to the Persian Gulf would pass entirely through Iranian waters, while outbound traffic would pass partly through Iranian waters and partly through Oman’s territorial waters. Iran and Oman will then negotiate over the next 30 to 60 days to reach an agreement on a new permanent and sustainable route.

About a fifth of the world’s traded oil passed through the strait before the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. It remains uncertain whether the U.S. will accept the emerging deal. U.S. President Donald Trump recently threatened to bomb Oman if it interferes with American efforts to reopen the strait.

Iran’s president and other senior officials also discussed the strait with a delegation from Pakistan that left Tehran on Tuesday following talks on reviving negotiations to end the Iran-U.S. conflict, according to the Pakistani military.

A strike on an oil tanker on Monday night off Oman’s coast disabled the ship’s engine, as reported by the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Organization. All crew members were reported safe, and there were no immediate reports of any environmental impact. Iran periodically fires at vessels attempting to transit the strait to enforce its control of the waterway, though there was no immediate claim for Monday’s attack. The U.S. has also fired on vessels while imposing a blockade of Iranian ports.

Tuesday marked one year since Israeli soldiers killed 22 Palestinians, including journalists and rescue workers, in a double strike on a hospital in Gaza that provoked global outrage. No one has been held accountable. Israeli officials stated that the target was a suspected Hamas camera on the roof of Nasser Hospital. Among those killed were Reuters cameraman Hussam al-Masri and Mariam Dagga, a visual journalist who worked for The Associated Press and other news organizations. Despite repeated requests by the AP, the army has not provided details about the investigation or a timeline for when it could be completed. Rights groups say Israel rarely holds troops accountable for killing Palestinians, pointing to long investigations that rarely lead to prosecution.

China’s Foreign Ministry is closely monitoring plans announced by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to expand sanctions to entities and individuals linked to Iran, including some based in China. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian emphasized that China-Iran cooperation “should not be disrupted or undermined,” noting that it has conformed with international law. China is one of Iran’s largest trading partners and purchases the majority of its total oil exports.

The Treasury Department announced on Monday that it was imposing sanctions on nearly 60 Iran-linked entities, including several based in China. It did not impose secondary sanctions on countries that trade with Iran.

An Israeli strike killed at least three people on Tuesday in the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza, according to Shifa Hospital, which received the casualties. Another strike, northwest of the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, killed at least one Palestinian and wounded four, according to the city’s Nasser hospital. Separately, Medical Aid for Palestinians, a U.K.-based charity providing health and humanitarian assistance, reported that an Israeli airstrike destroyed a warehouse belonging to a local partner in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. The warehouse stored nutritional supplies for children, pregnant women, and breastfeeding mothers.

The Israeli military stated that it struck a suspected militant in southern Gaza and several targets it described as Hamas infrastructure in Jabaliya. It did not immediately comment on the warehouse strike. Palestinians in Gaza face severe food shortages, with many displaced families relying on scarce humanitarian aid and charity kitchens for meals.

Israel seized a U.N.-run facility housing a vocational school on the outskirts of Jerusalem on Tuesday, advancing its campaign against the U.N. agency that provides humanitarian services to millions of Palestinian refugees across the Middle East. Israel’s Foreign Ministry claimed that the agency, known as UNRWA, does not own the land. Israel cited similar reasoning when its forces demolished the agency’s former east Jerusalem headquarters in January. The U.N. interim Mideast coordinator, Ramiz Alakbarov, called the seizure unlawful and said it deprived 340 Palestinian refugees of educational services. Israel has accused UNRWA of anti-Israel bias and at times of employing Palestinian militants. The United Nations and UNRWA have denied the accusations and say they investigate credible allegations and act quickly to purge suspected militants among staff. Last year, Israel’s Knesset passed legislation severing ties with the agency and banning it from functioning in what it defines as Israel — including east Jerusalem.

Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)