Iran nears Oman deal, sets out demands for US to reopen Hormuz

Iran said Sunday that it was closing in on a deal with Oman to establish new shipping lanes through Hormuz, but repeated that the strategic waterway would reopen only after the U.S. met Tehran's other conditions. A U.S. official had said Friday that an agreement between Iran and Oman was close and could soon reopen the strait, which carried a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before Iran blocked it in response to U.S. and Israeli attacks. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday an agreement on the strait that lies between the two countries was in the "final stages" but reiterated comments made Saturday that it would not reopen unless other conditions were met. The agreement would set out the new shipping lanes to be used once the U.S. fulfils those conditions and the strait is reopened, Iran's Mehr news agency quoted him as saying. Iran and the U.S. are not engaged in talks and Tehran will not start them as long as Washington breaches an interim deal signed in June, Araghchi said, adding that messages are being exchanged via intermediaries. "Once the deal is announced to restore commercial shipping without impediments, the United States will lift the blockade of Iranian ports," the U.S. official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. U.S. actions would be tied to Iran's implementation of its commitments, the official said. Araghchi said reopening the strait would depend on conditions including U.S. compensation to Iran for its widespread attacks. The secretary of Iran's top national security body, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, also listed ending U.S. threats against Iran, stopping aggression against Iran and its Lebanese, Palestinian, Yemeni and Iraqi allies, lifting a blockade and sanctions on Iran and freeing Iranian assets. The United Arab Emirates said Saturday that Iran had attacked a ship affiliated to its state oil company. There was no immediate comment from Iran. The Houthis said they had attacked Saudi Aramco's Jazan refinery Sunday, two days after the kingdom signed a defense pact with allies Türkiye and Pakistan in response to growing regional instability from the U.S.-Israeli war on Shiite Iran. The Saudi Energy Ministry said a fire had broken out at the refinery but was later extinguished with no injuries, and authorities were dealing with the incident, without giving a cause. The Houthis used a drone to target the refinery, military spokesperson Yahya Saree posted on X.