Tehran (AFP) – Iran on Sunday said it was nearing a deal with Oman over a new route through the Strait of Hormuz, hours after the US called off major strikes to allow for diplomacy. US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that his country and Israel had agreed to hold off on new strikes on Iran, saying the “perimeter” of a deal was there.
The foes have been at war since February 28, when the US and Israel launched surprise strikes against Iran, though months of on-off diplomacy have led to periods of relative calm. Following a return to strikes last month, fears had mounted that the fighting could escalate once again. Trump had threatened to hit Iran “very hard” and was reportedly considering renewed attacks, including against energy infrastructure, with US embassies across the region on alert.
But the US leader appeared to have changed course after a flurry of diplomacy, including speaking with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. Trump said, “We have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern countries, to hold off any attack in that the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.” He added, “Based on this request, I have agreed, for the future benefit of the WORLD and, likewise, the survival of a successful and prosperous Iran, to cancel the attack, subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
It was not immediately clear what the US president meant about the state of negotiations. Iranian media denied that Tehran had asked Trump not to strike.
Iranian lawmaker Hassan Ghashghavi, spokesman for the parliament’s national security commission, said on Sunday that mediators were trying to revive the so-called Islamabad memorandum of understanding, which was agreed in June. That memorandum was not intended as a final peace deal, but as a stepping stone to negotiations on a comprehensive agreement, though it did include provisions on Hormuz.
“They know that the main issue and, in fact, the key to the matter right now is the issue of the Strait of Hormuz, so yes, there is an exchange of views,” Ghashghavi said. The strait, a vital route for global oil and gas supplies, has been at the centre of the failed diplomatic efforts so far. Before the war, there was free passage for all vessels, but Iran closed the strait during the war and now insists on retaining control and charging tolls, something the US rejects.
Trump said any deal would have to include the “Immediate, Complete and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran’s nuclear threat.” The US president said at the start of the conflict that the war was necessary to deal with Iran’s nuclear programme. Western nations accuse Iran of seeking a bomb, though Tehran insists the programme is entirely civilian in nature.
The dispute over the Strait of Hormuz sparked the return to strikes last month, as Tehran refused to let ships travel any route other than one which hugs the Iranian coast. On Sunday, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told state television that a deal was close with Oman, which sits on the other side of the strait, over a new route through it.
“We are now going to reach an understanding on a route acceptable to both sides — neither the northern route nor the southern route — but one that respects the sovereign rights of both sides and safeguards our national interests and security,” he said. He insisted though that such an agreement did not mean the reopening of the strait. Maritime trade tracking firm Kpler said Friday that traffic through Hormuz had dropped sharply.
© 2024 AFP
