Iran said on Sunday that a deal with Oman defining new shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz was in its final stages but reiterated that the strait would only reopen once the United States met other conditions.A US official told Reuters on Friday that an agreement between Iran and Oman was close and could soon reopen the waterway, which carried a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before Iran blocked it in response to US and Israeli attacks.For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday an agreement on the strait that lies between the two countries was in the “final stages” but reiterated comments made on Saturday that it would not reopen it unless other conditions were met.The agreement would set out the new shipping lanes to be used once the US fulfils those conditions and the strait is reopened, Iran’s Mehr news agency quoted him as saying.Iran and the US are not engaged in talks and Tehran will not start them as long as Washington breaches an interim deal signed in June, Araghchi said, adding that messages are being exchanged via intermediaries.The United States began air strikes on Iran in late February saying it aimed to ensure that Iran could not acquire nuclear weapons or threaten the region with missiles or proxies.It agreed a ceasefire with Iran in June, but reimposed a blockade on Iranian shipping in the Gulf in July, which Tehran said was a violation of the truce that had already broken down.“Once the deal is announced to restore commercial shipping without impediments, the United States will lift the blockade of Iranian ports,” the US official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.US actions would be tied to Iran’s implementation of its commitments, the official said.The US comments indicated delicate sequencing towards a deal that sources had told Reuters appeared to be set to give Tehran control over ships entering the Gulf through the strait, something shippers said was not easily workable.The latest status of the agreement was not clear and Iran’s response suggested other factors would also come into play.Araghchi said reopening the strait would depend on conditions including US compensation to Iran for its widespread attacks.The secretary of Iran’s top national security body, Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr, also listed ending US threats against Iran, stopping aggression against Iran and its Lebanese, Palestinian, Yemeni and Iraqi allies, lifting a blockade and sanctions on Iran and freeing Iranian assets.The United Arab Emirates said on Saturday that Iran had attacked a ship affiliated to its state oil company. There was no immediate comment from Iran.The Saudi energy ministry said a fire had broken out at Saudi Aramco’s Jazan refinery but was later extinguished with no injuries and authorities were dealing with the incident.With ReutersRead more: Iran issues demands for reopening of Strait of Hormuz
Iran says Oman deal is in ‘final stages’ but US must act to open Strait of Hormuz
Iran said on Sunday that a deal with Oman defining new shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz was in its final stages but reiterated that the strait would










