Iran says talks with Oman focused on designating temporary route for safe shipping in Hormuz Strait

Tehran: Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Monday that negotiations between Iran and Oman are focused on reaching an agreement on designating a "temporary" route to ensure safe shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

"The negotiations have been focused on the idea that the southern route, which passes through Oman's waters, and the northern route, which passes through Iran's territorial waters, would turn into an intermediate route," Baghaei said at a weekly press conference in Tehran. He said the talks are centred on a round-trip corridor, not two or three separate routes, and the intermediate route will be used temporarily until a permanent one is finalised, Xinhua News Agency reported. The waterway's closure stems not from differences between Iran and Oman, but from US-Israeli "military aggression" against Iran, Baghaei said, adding the strait's status will stay unchanged as long as Washington continues its "malicious" actions against the country.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting in Tehran on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said the negotiations between Iran and Oman are in their final stages, according to the official news agency IRNA. Baghaei also said at the press conference the country will take every necessary action to hold Ukraine to account for its recent attack on an Iranian vessel. (IANS)

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