Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi said Monday that Muscat is committed to ensuring safe and free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz for all, as Oman works to shape an arrangement with Iran over passage through the vital waterway amid renewed U.S.-Iran tensions.
“All understandings regarding the strait must remain within the framework of international law,” al-Busaidi said. “We are committed to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and there is agreement with Iran that any arrangement will not fall outside it. Oman does not support imposing fees on ships passing through the strait, while remaining committed to the rules of international law.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that France and Oman are working together to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East and would cooperate with their partners on clearing mines from the Strait of Hormuz.
“We have decided to collaborate, in conjunction with our partners, on clearing mines from the Strait in order to secure maritime routes and guarantee free and unconditional passage through the Strait of Hormuz,” Macron wrote on X after meeting Omani Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said at the Elysee Palace.
The warning came as Qatar’s Ministry of Transport issued a public safety notice advising owners and users of maritime vessels, including leisure boats, fishing boats and jet skis, to temporarily suspend sailing and all maritime activities until further notice. The ministry said vessels operating under international maritime conventions and existing procedures were exempt.
Qatar said the measure was a temporary precaution taken in coordination with the relevant security bodies, and that further updates would be issued through official channels.
The comments came as Washington and Tehran continued to give conflicting accounts of an interim understanding meant to halt attacks and reopen the strait, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas typically passes. A source familiar with the discussions told Reuters that Iranian and U.S. technical teams working on implementation of the deal were expected to meet in Doha in the coming days, and that mediators had established communication channels to de-escalate incidents.
A senior Iranian source said a meeting would take place in Doha on Tuesday, but unlike previous technical talks between Tehran and Washington in Switzerland, the focus would be on managing the Strait of Hormuz and reducing tensions. U.S. President Donald Trump also wrote on Truth Social that, “at Iran’s request, talks will resume tomorrow in Doha.”
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi earlier rejected reports that technical meetings were scheduled for this week, telling Iran’s Tasnim news agency that “technical meetings of the working groups are not planned for this week.” He said meetings would take place only when Iran’s conditions in the agreement were met, while consultations through mediating countries continued.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News that U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would fly to Doha this week for high-level meetings alongside the technical talks. “As far as we’re concerned, we’re holding up our end of the ceasefire. Violence will be met with violence,” she said.
The United States and Iran signed a 14-point memorandum of understanding on June 17 aimed at ending four months of conflict. Under the interim accord, both sides agreed to cease hostilities and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, though they have given conflicting accounts of what was agreed and how control over passage through the strait should be interpreted.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Monday that $6 billion out of $12 billion in Iranian assets frozen in Qatar would be released and returned to Iran, Iranian state media reported. He described the memorandum, which includes waivers for sanctions on Iran’s oil and petrochemical sectors, as “a great victory for the Iranian people.”
The latest push for de-escalation followed several days of strikes and counterstrikes after an Iranian projectile hit a cargo vessel in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, with Washington and Tehran each accusing the other of violating the interim ceasefire. Iran later launched missiles and drones at U.S. military sites in Kuwait and Bahrain, shortly after Trump threatened Tehran in a social media post.
“There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started,” Trump wrote. “If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!”
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said U.S. strikes had violated the ceasefire and warned that American bases in the region would “experience hell in the coming days.” CENTCOM said U.S. strikes targeted surveillance infrastructure, communications systems, air defense sites, drone facilities and mine-laying capabilities, while Iran rejected the U.S. allegations and accused Washington of violating the understandings.