Iran and Oman have been in talks for weeks on a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and the agreement coming together would deliver a huge geopolitical win for Tehran.
A proposed deal between the two countries that sit on opposite ends of the narrow waterway would give Iran control over inbound traffic, sources told Reuters.
The U.S. and other countries in the Persian Gulf have insisted that the strait must return to its prewar status, when ships enjoyed total freedom of navigation.
But months of U.S.-Israeli bombardment failed to break Iran’s ability to threaten ships attempting to cross without its authorization, keeping Hormuz effectively closed and the Gulf’s oil supplies bottled up.
At the same time, President Donald Trump has repeatedly balked at renewing all-out war as the U.S. military’s inventory of key munitions has reportedly hit critical lows while global oil markets also are running out of reserves.
