Qatar's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Dr. Majed Al Ansari, said Qatar has heard positive statements from both Oman and Iran regarding negotiations on the Strait of Hormuz in recent days. He was speaking amid ongoing efforts to restore shipping through the strategic waterway, which has seen drastically reduced traffic since clashes began.
According to reports, Oman and Iran have agreed on the coordinates of proposed shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz. Under the proposed system, ships entering the Gulf would use a northern route through Iranian waters, while departing vessels would use a southern route through Omani waters.
The development comes as commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains significantly below pre-war levels. On a recent Monday, only six vessels passed through the strait, compared with a 10-day daily average of about 11 vessels. Before the war, the waterway saw between 130 and 140 ships per day and handled roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies.
Ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz on a recent Monday, far below the pre-war daily average.
Qatar relies on the Strait of Hormuz to export liquefied natural gas, making the talks particularly significant for the country. The Qatari spokesperson said he was not aware of any discussion of compensation within the Oman-Iran talks. This follows a statement by US President Donald Trump that Iran should compensate people killed or injured in attacks he blamed on Tehran.
In related remarks, Al Ansari said Qatar supports the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement signed between Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan. He also said the mediators Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey are working to implement the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement as soon as possible.
Background: From Memorandum to Talks
The talks follow a memorandum of understanding reached between Iran and the US on June 14 with Pakistani mediation. The first phase of that memorandum involved the US releasing Iran's frozen assets in exchange for the opening of the Strait of Hormuz and Iran not charging fees for passage for 60 days. However, the US did not release the assets and instead identified an alternative route through Omani waters.
Intense clashes between Iran and the US began on July 8 and lasted about two weeks. Tehran has linked any reopening of the strait to resolving disputes over what it describes as US violations of the June memorandum.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ismail Baqayi said progress has been made in technical and political talks with Oman. Iran claims to be close to an agreement with Oman on a new temporary maritime route, with the general layout of a corridor agreed, a large part of which would pass through Iranian territorial waters. Tehran stated that an understanding has been reached on the shipping traffic map, with consultations continuing on the technical details of a joint statement.
