Tehran: Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Monday that Iran-Oman negotiations on the designation of a temporary route for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz have reached their final stage.
The understanding between the two countries regarding the route’s designation would likely be registered with the International Maritime Organisation in the coming days, Baghaei said at a weekly press conference in Tehran, Xinhua News Agency reported.
The insecurity in the waterway is a consequence of the US-Israeli “military aggression” against Iran, he said, noting, “Vessels will not be able to travel this route with confidence and a sense of security by the time this situation continues.”
Responding to a question about a Sunday visit by a Qatari delegation to Iran, Baghaei said it took place as part of Qatar’s efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region.
He said contacts between Iran and certain other regional countries that have long been trying to help reduce tensions “is an ongoing process.”
In a joint statement late last month, Iran and Oman announced they had exchanged views on a proposed phased framework that includes establishing a temporary joint shipping corridor in the Strait of Hormuz and an agreement to implement a joint project to demine the waterway.
Technical talks between the two countries will continue to address the designation of a permanent shipping corridor, the future administration of the strait, and a mechanism for information exchange, traffic management, and security arrangements in the waterway, the statement added.
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei has said that his country would announce a restricted zone outside the Strait of Hormuz in the coming days and place any ship attempting to transit the area on Tehran’s sanctions list.
In an interview with state-run IRIB TV, which was broadcast Sunday night (local time), Rezaei said that the zone would extend from “the line where the US naval blockade begins to the Strait of Hormuz region and inside the Persian Gulf on the other side (of the strait).”
Ships that enter the zone without coordination with Iran, he added, would face sanctions affecting their insurance coverage and future passage through the waterway.
Rezaei framed the move as part of a broader strategic shift in Iran’s approach to war and diplomacy, aiming at increasing pressure on Washington.
(IANS)
