Iran has rejected Oman's plan for sharing control of the Strait of Hormuz and offered its own plan instead, which would put key shipping routes more fully inside Iranian waters. Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi explained Tehran's position on Iranian state TV around July 28, 2026 (Al Jazeera).

The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow stretch of water between Iran and Oman. It is one of the most important shipping lanes in the world. Before a recent war, about one-fifth of all the world's oil and natural gas passed through it.

Gharibabadi said Oman's plan did not do enough to address Iran's concerns about controlling the strait. Oman had proposed splitting oversight 50-50: Iran would manage shipping lanes in its own waters, and Oman would manage lanes in its own. Oman's plan also included voluntary fees that ships could pay, with the money going to both countries. The idea was modeled on the Strait of Malacca agreement, where Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore ask ships to voluntarily contribute to navigation aids, environmental protection, and search-and-rescue operations.

Iran's plan would place one shipping route entirely within Iranian waters, with part of the opposite route also passing through Iranian territory. The strait passes through the territorial waters of both Iran and Oman. Technical talks between the two countries were held on July 26, 2026, according to Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Iran MFA).

Reuters reported that Gulf states support Oman's plan for a joint system with Iran to manage the strait through voluntary user fees (Israel National News). Gulf foreign ministers held a meeting on July 28, 2026, to discuss regional security, according to Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Oman's foreign ministry had reaffirmed cooperation to restore freedom of navigation in the strait as recently as July 14, 2026, and had previously published content on June 24 about working with the International Maritime Organization to set up a transit corridor for ships.

This back-and-forth comes after a short but destructive war between the United States and Iran that began in late February 2026. US-Israeli attacks on Iran led Tehran to close the Strait of Hormuz shortly after the war started. The US then blocked Iranian ports in response.

Iran and the US signed an agreement on June 17, 2026, to reopen the strait to shipping without charge for at least 60 days. But the wording was vague about who ultimately controls the strait, and that disagreement led to renewed US attacks on Iran and Iranian strikes in return. The fighting stopped in the week before July 29, though arguments over who controls the strait continued.

The effects of the closure spread over time. In April, Iran offered to reopen the strait if the US lifted its blockade (AP News). Iran's parliament speaker said Tehran would not reopen the strait as long as the US naval blockade stayed in place (Al Jazeera). On July 15, Iran fired on three commercial ships in the strait because they used a route Iran had not approved (Al Jazeera). Separately, Al Jazeera reported in April that Iran and China were trying to use the Chinese currency more in strait-related transactions, challenging the dominance of the US dollar (Al Jazeera).

The two plans are very different. Oman's draws on an existing model where countries cooperate: the Strait of Malacca scheme is voluntary and shares oversight among the three countries bordering it. Iran's plan would maximize how much of the shipping routes fall under Iranian control, giving Tehran sole authority over the main shipping lane and partial authority over the other.

For Gulf states, Oman's model offers a way back to stable shipping without giving control to any one country. For Iran, its own plan reflects a desire for direct control over a passage it sees as vital to its power. The earlier agreement collapsed over unclear language about "ultimate control," and these two plans are the latest versions of positions that have already proven hard to reconcile.

What we are watching now is whether Oman can close the gap between a plan backed by Gulf states and Iran's insistence on controlling as much of the strait as possible. The 60-day period from the June 17 agreement has not officially ended, but that agreement was effectively undone by the fighting that followed. The Gulf meeting on July 28 shows these countries want a lasting deal before tensions rise again. But Iran's public rejection of Oman's plan right before that meeting suggests the two sides still have a long way to go.