A U.S. official on Friday reported progress between Iran and Oman that could soon reopen the Strait of Hormuz, potentially restoring oil exports disrupted by the five-month-old U.S. war with Iran.
The official, who declined to be identified, said Washington expected an agreement soon between Iran and Oman, which sit on opposite sides of the strategic waterway, allowing normal oil traffic to resume.
Washington expected an agreement soon between Iran and Oman
A deal between the two countries over control of the strait is considered crucial to a broader peace agreement.
“There is progress between Oman and Iran on the strait, and we expect a deal soon,” the U.S. official told Reuters. “Once the deal is announced to restore commercial shipping without impediments, the United States will lift the blockade of Iranian ports.”
“As always, U.S. actions will continue to be performance-based and tied to Iran’s implementation of its commitments,” the official said.
Before the U.S. and Israel launched the war against Iran on February 28, roughly one in every five barrels of oil consumed worldwide passed through the Strait of Hormuz. Since then, Iran has cited the hostilities to justify charging tolls on oil tankers and firing on vessels that attempt to cross without permission.
The disruption to oil shipments has driven up energy prices and fueled inflation.
In recent weeks, the Trump administration has repeatedly signaled that an agreement to reopen the strait could be close, only for Iran to deny that negotiations were underway. It remained unclear whether the latest round of talks would produce a lasting arrangement.
Iranian attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz have been accompanied by increased attacks by its Yemen-based Houthi allies, who have targeted vessels at another major oil chokepoint between the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan sign defense pact
Alarmed by a regional conflict that has brought Iranian missile fire onto Gulf oil exporters, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey signed a joint defense agreement in Mecca on Friday.
The pact among the three U.S. allies, all majority-Sunni Muslim countries, is intended to strengthen collective deterrence and stipulates that an armed attack against any one of them would be considered an attack on all three, according to a joint statement.
Turkey said the agreement was purely defensive and was not directed against any specific country. It nevertheless comes amid heightened tensions with Shiite-majority Iran.
The U.S. has also been trying to broker an end to fighting on another front between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terror group in southern Lebanon.
A Lebanese official said Friday that Lebanon and Israel had agreed on a shortlist of countries that could send troops to verify Hezbollah’s disarmament under a U.S.-brokered agreement. The United States would choose participating countries from that list.
Iran’s president defends diplomacy
Washington and Tehran have not held direct high-level talks since U.S. Vice President JD Vance met Iranian officials in Switzerland in June, shortly after the two sides reached a ceasefire agreement.
That short-lived June 17 memorandum of understanding established terms for resuming oil shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and led to a ceasefire. Amid internal opposition to the agreement in both the U.S. and Iran, hostilities resumed on July 7 before being halted again.
U.S. Central Command has not reported any strikes on Iran since July 29.
Analysts have said apparent divisions between Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and other centers of power in Iran, particularly Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, may be complicating efforts to reach a peace agreement.
In an interview with Iranian state television broadcast Friday, Pezeshkian defended his government’s policies against hardliners who oppose negotiations with the United States. He said most senior military commanders supported talks aimed at ending the fighting.
“America’s biggest enemy is China, why don’t they fight? China is doing its own thing and is getting stronger day by day. When we can get our rights through dialogue, why not do it?” he said.