BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 8. Iran and Oman are
very close to an agreement on the Strait of Hormuz.


This was announced by Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas
Araghchi at a press conference organized by Iranian President
Masoud Pezeshkian with reporters today.


"Discussions between Iran and Oman regarding the management and
legal mechanism of the Strait of Hormuz regarding the determination
of the route of passage through the Strait of Hormuz are ongoing,
and the two countries are very close to an agreement. However, the
opening of the Strait of Hormuz is possible with other conditions,
including compensation for violations of the Islamabad Memorandum
of Understanding by the U.S," he noted.


Araghchi said that previously, there was a Traffic Separation
Scheme (TSS) in the Strait of Hormuz. However, according to Iran,
this scheme is no longer acceptable for the passage of ships. A new
Traffic Separation Scheme should be envisaged. Of course, there are
many technical and legal complexities in this regard.







"Taking into account the technical and legal complexity,
negotiations are currently underway on a temporary route. A new
temporary route will be considered as the basis of the main route.
Discussions were held between the military and naval forces of Iran
and Oman on this issue based on existing maps. When these
discussions are concluded, a new route will be determined," he
pointed out.


The minister also said that Article 5 of the Islamabad
Memorandum of Understanding between Iran and the U.S. was being
implemented by Iran. It was decided to normalize the situation in
the Strait of Hormuz within two months. Within two weeks, the
passage of ships had normalized to 60%. However, the U.S. side
intended to create new routes in the Strait of Hormuz. Despite the
warnings of the Iranian side, the other side tried to undermine the
management of the Strait of Hormuz. Accordingly, the violation of
the Memorandum of Understanding by Iran is unacceptable.


Meanwhile, the latest escalation in U.S.-Iranian relations began
on July 8. On that day, for the first time since the signing of the
memorandum between Washington and Tehran, the U.S. military carried
out several waves of strikes on Iranian territory, claiming that
this was in response to an attack on a merchant ship in the Strait
of Hormuz. On the same day, U.S. President Donald Trump announced
the end of the ceasefire with Iran. In response, Tehran began
attacking U.S. facilities in Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, the
UAE, and Oman. The Iranian side currently states that the Strait of
Hormuz has been closed.