A satellite view of the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway between Iran and Oman that links the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea.
Gallo Images | Getty Images
Discussions over the future of the Strait of Hormuz continued on Tuesday as Iran’s Foreign Ministry said it had held talks on the strategically vital maritime passage with Saudi and Omani counterparts.
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araqchi held separate phone calls with Saudi Arabia’s Faisal bin Farhan and Oman’s Badr Al-Busaidi regarding “the latest bilateral and regional developments,” according to a Telegram statement translated by Google.
The ministry said the calls “emphasized the need to strengthen cooperation and advance joint diplomatic efforts to establish stability in the region and eliminate the insecurity imposed on the Strait of Hormuz caused by the aggressive actions of the United States.”
Oman is understood to have presented Iran with a plan for the future of the strait, backed by Gulf states, that includes “voluntary” fees, rather than mandatory tolls imposed by Tehran, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
A similar arrangement is in place in the Strait of Malacca, where Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore ask ships to help fund navigation, environmental protection and search-and-rescue operations, according to Reuters.
It came as a pause in U.S.-Iran hostilities appeared to hold after two weeks of strikes between the adversaries came to a temporary halt on Friday.
Markets have broadly responded positively to the pause, with stocks rallying and oil prices falling on Monday, with sentiment buoyed by the potential for a lasting peace agreement.
But other Middle East actors have continued military action in recent days, with Saudi Arabia reporting overnight that it had intercepted a “number of drones” allegedly launched by Iran-backed militias in Iraq targeting the kingdom’s oil facilities.
But the Iraqi militias have not claimed responsibility for the attempted strikes, while Yemen’s Houthis have said they had attacked Saudi oil facilities, according to Reuters – leaving the culprits unclear at the time of writing.
The Jordanian army also said it had downed a drone in its airspace overnight.
U.S. President Donald Trump hailed “good talks” with Iran late on Monday. The Iranian foreign ministry continued to deny that any direct negotiations with the U.S. were taking place, but suggested messages are being exchanged via intermediaries.
Nevertheless, Trump told reporters on Air Force One that U.S. strikes will resume if talks fail to deliver progress.
Regarding talks with Iran, the president separately told a campaign rally in Michigan: “You can’t bribe them. You’ve got to beat them, and we’ll beat the hell out of them. But we’ll see how it turns out. Right now, there are very friendly negotiations going on.”
