A US official told Reuters early Saturday that Washington assesses an agreement between Iran and Oman on the Strait of Hormuz will be reached soon. The official said that once an agreement is signed and ship movement resumes through the strait, the US will lift its naval blockade on Iran.
A US official told Reuters early Saturday that Washington assesses an Iran-Oman agreement on the Strait of Hormuz will be reached soon, and that once shipping resumes through the strait, the United States will lift its naval blockade on Iran. The statement, reported at 05:00 Jerusalem, is the most explicit US commitment to date linking the blockade's removal to a finalized deal.
The development follows a rapid sequence of reports Friday evening. At 22:04 Jerusalem, a senior US official told Reuters that progress had been made in Iran-Oman talks and that an agreement was expected soon, with the US naval siege on Iran to be lifted upon announcement. The Zioneer reported that initial statement. Minutes later, at 22:30 Jerusalem, Reuters reported, citing sources, that Iran and Oman were expected to finalize an agreement soon, adding independent corroboration to the official's claim. The current report, from a US official, reinforces the trajectory and clarifies the conditional nature of the blockade's removal.
As The Zioneer has reported in recent days, the emerging deal follows weeks of intense diplomacy. On Tuesday, Aug 4, Iran said it would gain full control over vessel entry to the strait under a plan with Oman, and diplomatic sources later outlined a 60-day interim arrangement. On Saturday, Jul 11, a senior US official warned Iran it must announce free passage or face military plans. The current agreement would resolve a months-long standoff that disrupted global shipping.
What remains open: the agreement has not yet been signed. The US official's assessment is conditional on a deal being reached, and no timeline for finalization has been given beyond 'soon.'
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