Anyway, Iran says it has reached an agreement with Oman on a route for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei did not give any further details on the agreement, which he said was "in the final stages".
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Baqaei warned, however, that a deal with Oman would not guarantee safe navigation through the strait, arguing security remained impacted by the US blockade of Iran's ports. The US and Oman have not commented on the proposal.
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“On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump warned that Iran would be "hit very hard" if the strait did not open "very soon". His comments came after senior US officials said talks had progressed to allow shipments to potentially resume later this week, though Iran has maintained that it is not negotiating with the US and has no plans to do so.”
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“Reopening the strait has been a key point in discussions between the two countries and mediators.
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In his statement, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said the "geographical coordinates of the route" had been agreed with Oman. “The factors making the Strait of Hormuz insecure still exist on the part of the United States, particularly the naval blockade and other aggressive and threatening actions against Iran and its interests," he said, according to Iran's official Irna news agency.
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Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi later told Irna the new route would be temporary and could stay open from two to four months. He did not give further details. Since the beginning of the war, traffic through the strait has dwindled. Iran has said all passage needs to be cleared beforehand - and it has attacked vessels which have ignored the order.
One of the main points of disagreement between Tehran and Washington has been Iran's threat to impose a fee on vessels wishing to cross the strait. Iran is seeking fees of between 5% and 7% of the price of cargoes from ships using the strait, according to a senior Iranian official cited by Reuters. Oman is discussing fees of around 3%, while Washington wants no fees at all.
Neither the US or Oman have commented on the proposed agreement on the vital waterway.
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Once Iran, be it for the next couple months or the next couple years or indefinitely, normalizes its control over the Strait of Hormuz, controlling who can enter and exit the Gulf, how many American warships or other military vessels do you think Iran is going to allow in and out of there?
The United States operates
approximately 11 to 13 major military bases and dual-use host facilities directly in and around the Persian Gulf (often referred to regionally as the Arabian Gulf). This footprint forms the core concentration of the broader network of roughly 19 U.S. military sites across the Middle East. Would naval access be completely cut off to America of these above bases?
