Iran said on August 5, 2026, that it has agreed with Oman on a shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz, calling the deal "in the final stages" BBC.

The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow strip of water between Iran and Oman that connects the Persian Gulf to the open ocean. About a fifth of all the world's oil and natural gas normally travels through it. Iran has mostly blocked the strait since the US and Israel attacked Iran in late February 2026.

Under the new deal, ships entering the Persian Gulf would travel through a lane controlled by Iran. Ships leaving would go through a lane controlled by Oman. Iran had rejected an earlier idea from Oman for shared control and offered its own plan on July 29 Al Jazeera. Officials confirmed around August 4 that the two sides had made progress toward reopening the strait The Columbian.

But there is a catch. The US has its own naval blockade around Iranian ports in the region. Iran's spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei warned that the Oman deal alone would not make shipping safe as long as that US blockade stays in place BBC.

The US had not commented publicly on the Iran-Oman deal at the time of reporting. But senior US officials said talks had gone far enough that shipments through the strait could possibly resume later in the week. Iran says it is not negotiating with the US BBC.

President Donald Trump warned that Iran would be "hit very hard" if the strait did not open "very soon" BBC. The threat adds pressure on both Iran and Oman as they finish the details of their arrangement.

The Strait of Hormuz is not the only shipping route in trouble. Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis blocked Saudi Arabia's Red Sea ports on July 20, adding another disruption to shipping in the region BBC. With both the strait and the Red Sea routes squeezed, Gulf shipping faces problems on two of the world's most important energy routes.

Iran's position on the strait has changed over time. In April, Iran's foreign ministry said that after a ceasefire in Lebanon, all commercial ships were "fully permitted" to pass through the strait Iranian Foreign Ministry. By mid-July, the Oman-led talks were described as focused on "arrangements for the administration of the Strait of Hormuz and its navigation routes" Iranian Foreign Ministry. Iran also rejected a complaint from Qatar about a reported incident involving a Qatar-linked ship in the strait in early July Iranian Foreign Ministry.

The broader context here is a standoff where countries are using shipping routes as leverage. Iran blocked the strait to push back against the February attacks. The US blockaded Iranian ports to pressure Iran. The Houthis blocked the Red Sea to tie their conflict in Yemen to the wider disruption of energy shipping. Each side controls a different piece of the puzzle, and none can fix the situation alone.

The deal with Oman solves one part of that puzzle: who controls which shipping lane. It does not solve the problem of the US naval blockade. Whether the US lifts or changes that blockade will likely decide whether the Iran-Oman deal leads to actual ships moving again, or stays just an agreement on paper.

US officials' suggestion that shipments could resume this week hints that Washington may see the Oman deal as a way to ease tensions. But Iran says it is not talking to the US, and Trump has threatened to hit Iran hard. The opening for peace is real but narrow, and the conditions attached to it are serious.