Iran and Oman have agreed on the details of new entry and exit routes for the Strait of Hormuz and will brief Gulf countries on the outcome of their consultations at a regional meeting in Muscat on Monday, Iranian officials said on Saturday, stressing that the understanding doesn’t mean that the reopening of the strategic waterway.
Citing a source close to Iran’s negotiating team, the semi-official Tasnim news agency said that the understanding was reached after “intensive technical and diplomatic talks between Iran and Oman, which culminated in a final agreement in late August.”
Under the understanding, the Gulf’s entry route “lies entirely within Iran’s territorial waters,” and a portion of the exit route also falls “within Iranian territorial waters,” the source said.
However, the understanding does not provide for the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz but establishes the basis on which it could reopen, according the source, cited by Tasnim.
Iran-Oman understanding does not provide for immediate reopening of Strait of Hormuz, Tasnim reports – https://t.co/XIxorDQ7WZ
— Reuters Iran (@ReutersIran) September 12, 2026
The source said the arrangement would be a step towards Iran exercising sovereignty over the strait and that its reopening depended entirely on the United States meeting Tehran’s conditions.
The source added that transit along this route will be governed by Iranian protocols and once implemented, the southern route, which the US had insisted upon opening and which had been a primary source of recent tensions, will be closed.
The informed source further stated that Iraq will also attend the meeting, alongside Iran, Oman, and the other Persian Gulf littoral states. However, these countries will merely be apprised of the outcome of the Iran-Oman negotiations, as decisions regarding the specifics of the understanding were finalized during technical meetings held exclusively between Iran and Oman.
Emphasizing that this understanding in no way signifies the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, the source noted that Iran has communicated seven conditions to the American side via intermediaries for the opening of the Strait and the strait will remain closed until these seven conditions, endorsed by the highest authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran, are implemented.
Iran SETS CONDITION for HORMUZ REOPENING after DEAL with OMAN — Tasnim citing sources
— RT (@RT_com) September 12, 2026
‘AMERICAN SIDE’ MUST first IMPLEMENT IRAN’S CONDITIONS pic.twitter.com/rHFUnITBbT
Source: Iranian media