Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on August 5, 2026, that Iran and Oman have agreed on a shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz, calling the deal "in the final stages." Baqaei confirmed that the two countries had settled on the exact geographical coordinates of the route — the most concrete progress in weeks of Oman-mediated negotiations over who controls the chokepoint BBC.

The proposed arrangement would divide transit control: ships entering the Persian Gulf would use a lane controlled by Iran, while outbound vessels would exit through a lane controlled by Oman. The structure is a compromise. Iran had rejected an earlier Omani proposal for joint oversight and submitted a counter-proposal on July 29 Al Jazeera. Officials confirmed around August 4 that progress had been made on reopening the strait The Columbian.

The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf through which roughly a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes. Iran has largely blocked it since the US and Israel attacked Iran in late February 2026. The US has separately imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports in the region. Baqaei warned that the Oman deal alone would not guarantee safe passage so long as the US blockade remains BBC.

The US had not commented publicly on the Iran-Oman proposal at the time of reporting. Senior US officials, however, said the talks had progressed far enough that shipments through the strait could potentially resume later in the week. Iran has maintained 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 Tehran and Muscat as they finalize the technical details of the dual-route arrangement.

The Strait of Hormuz is not the only maritime chokepoint under strain. Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis imposed a blockade on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea ports on July 20, adding a second layer of disruption to regional shipping BBC. With both the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea routes constrained, Gulf shipping faces compounding bottlenecks on two of the world's most critical energy transit corridors.

Iran's posture on the strait has shifted over the months. In April, Iran's foreign ministry said that following a ceasefire in Lebanon, transit of all commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz was "fully permitted" Iranian Foreign Ministry. By mid-July, the Oman-mediated talks were described as focused on "arrangements for the administration of the Strait of Hormuz and its navigation routes" Iranian Foreign Ministry. Separately, Iran rejected Qatar's allegation over a reported incident involving a Qatar-linked vessel in the strait in early July Iranian Foreign Ministry.

The broader context here is a layered confrontation in which maritime chokepoints have become tools of pressure on multiple fronts. Iran's blockade of Hormuz is retaliation for the February strikes, while the US naval blockade of Iranian ports constrains Iran's own exports. The Houthis' Red Sea blockade adds a third dimension, tying the Yemeni conflict to the wider disruption of Gulf energy flows. Each party holds a different piece of the maritime chessboard, and none can restore normal transit on its own.

The dual-route formula with Oman addresses one piece of that puzzle: the technical question of who controls which lane and under what coordinates. It does not address the US naval blockade that Baqaei identified as the remaining obstacle to safe navigation. Whether the US lifts or modifies that blockade will likely determine whether the Iran-Oman agreement translates into actual shipments resuming, or stays a bilateral understanding on paper.

Senior US officials' signal that shipments could resume later in the week suggests Washington may see the Oman-mediated arrangement as a workable way to de-escalate. But Iran's insistence that it is not negotiating with the US, combined with Trump's "hit very hard" warning, leaves a narrow and fragile opening. The agreement's final-stage status is real, but so are the conditions attached to it.