Iran’s Top Diplomat in Oman for Talks on Strait of Hormuz

Iran’s Top Diplomat in Oman for Talks on Strait of Hormuz

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Oman on Saturday, July 11, for high-level consultations centered on the Strait of Hormuz and maritime security. The visit follows a violent escalation between the United States and Iran that has threatened to permanently collapse a fragile ceasefire agreement.

The talks in Muscat aim to establish arrangements for the safe transit of ships through the waterway, which serves as a critical conduit for global oil and liquefied natural gas exports. According to Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei, these discussions are a continuation of bilateral consultations held over the past one to two months. The two nations intend to discuss shipping safety in accordance with Article 5 of the Islamabad memorandum of understanding (MoU).

Strait of Hormuz Dispute

The waterway has become a central point of contention since the conflict began in late February with US-Israeli strikes on Iran. Iran has sought to exert greater control over the strait, proposing to charge fees for commercial vessels — a move Washington rejects, asserting that the strait is an international waterway.

Tensions spiked this week after Iran was accused of targeting three commercial vessels, including a Qatari-owned tanker, which Tehran claimed had deviated from approved routes. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has attempted to divert traffic away from Omani waters and toward lanes controlled by Iran. The impact on global trade was immediate; S&P Global MINT and S&P Global Commodities at Sea reported that the number of ships traversing the strait fell to 34 on Thursday, the lowest daily level since June 28.

Military Escalation and Casualties

The US responded to the ship attacks with a heavy round of bombing. The US military reported hitting around 90 targets across Iran, while other reports suggest the strikes targeted at least 170 targets, including railways used for military supplies. Iran's health ministry stated Saturday that the strikes killed 17 people and injured 115 others.

Tehran accused Washington of targeting civilian infrastructure, including railway links and bridges between the capital and Mashhad, to disrupt the funeral of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Reports also indicated a US-Israeli attack on a military headquarters near Bushehr, the site of Iran's only civilian nuclear plant. Iran retaliated with strikes against US-allied countries in the Gulf that host American military bases, including Bahrain and Kuwait.

Diplomatic Efforts and Friction

Despite the violence, indirect diplomacy continues. A Qatari delegation visited Tehran on Friday to reinforce its role as a mediator. Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also intervened, holding calls with Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian and Qatar's emir to urge the safeguarding of regional peace.

However, the diplomatic path is fraught. President Donald Trump declared on Truth Social that the ceasefire is OVER!, although he noted the US agreed to Iranian requests to continue talks. Trump further threatened to completely decimate and destroy Iran if there were any attempt to assassinate him, claiming he has been No. 1 on their target list for a long time.

Iranian officials have privately told US advisers that the attacks on commercial ships were a mistake caused by an errant sect of hardliners, according to senior US officials. Publicly, however, the tone remains defiant. Iran's chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, stated that the confrontation will never end with Iran's surrender.

Sanctions and Legal Disputes

Minister Araghchi has accused the US of violating Paragraph 9 of the June MoU, which stipulates that Washington would not deploy additional forces or impose new sanctions pending a final deal. Araghchi pointed to the US Treasury Department's recent revocation of a temporary sanctions waiver for Iranian oil, which had previously allowed Tehran to sell crude until August 21.

Simultaneously, the US Treasury sanctioned Dubai-based financier Ali Ansari and several currency exchange houses, accusing them of diverting public wealth to the IRGC and leader Mojtaba Khamenei.

Regional Fallout

The instability has ripples across the region:

• Lebanon: An Israeli drone strike killed one person in Kfar Rumman, despite a truce in the Israel-Hezbollah war.
• Economy: AAA reported the US national average gasoline price rose to $3.88 a gallon on Friday.
• Shipping: Maersk announced Thursday it will resume services via the Suez Canal to bypass Red Sea threats, though ships trapped in the Persian Gulf still rely on the contested Strait of Hormuz.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei issued a statement via ISNA pledging to exact revenge for the blood of martyrs from criminal and disgraced killers, referring to conflicts in 2025 and 2026.

The US team, led by Vice President JD Vance, Jared Kushner, Steve Witkoff, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, continues negotiations while maintaining that military and economic leverage will be used if hostile acts persist.