Iran-Oman deal nears final stage as Hormuz reopening hangs on U.S. action

TEHRAN/DUBAI, Aug. 9, 2026 — Iran said Sunday that an agreement with Oman establishing new shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz is in its “final stages.” Still, it warned that the strategic waterway will not fully reopen unless the United States meets additional conditions, underscoring the fragile state of efforts to restore commercial shipping in the region.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said the agreement with Oman would define new routes for commercial vessels once Tehran’s conditions are met. He reiterated that Iran and the United States are not holding direct negotiations, although messages are being exchanged through intermediaries.

The Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important energy corridors, carried roughly one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before Iran blocked the waterway following U.S. and Israeli attacks. Any prolonged disruption has significant implications for global energy supplies and shipping costs.

Tehran’s position goes beyond the technical agreement with Oman.

Araqchi said reopening the waterway would depend on U.S. compensation for what Iran describes as widespread attacks and violations of an interim agreement reached in June. Iran has also demanded an end to U.S. sanctions and threats, the lifting of the naval blockade, and the release of frozen Iranian assets.

Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr, secretary of Iran’s top national security body, separately listed additional demands, including an end to what Tehran calls U.S. aggression against Iran and its regional allies in Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen and Iraq.

A U.S. official told Reuters on Friday that Washington expected an agreement with Iran and Oman could soon allow the waterway to reopen. The official said the United States would lift its blockade of Iranian ports once an agreement restoring commercial shipping without impediments is announced, with the timing of U.S. and Iranian actions dependent on each side carrying out its commitments.

The negotiations are complicated by disagreement over how vessels would be routed. Earlier reporting indicated that a proposed arrangement could give Iran significant control over ships entering the Gulf, a provision that shipping groups have questioned as difficult to implement.

The diplomatic developments come as Iran’s political leadership remains under scrutiny.

Iranian state media reported Sunday that President Masoud Pezeshkian met Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei in late July. The meeting reportedly focused on military affairs and economic issues, including securing resources, managing foreign exchange and energy use, and Iran’s economic relations with foreign partners.

The meeting was significant because Khamenei has maintained an unusually low public profile since becoming Iran’s supreme leader. Pezeshkian has given differing accounts of his access to Khamenei, saying on July 21 that interactions were increasing, before saying in early August that communication with the supreme leader was difficult.

Khamenei succeeded his father, Ali Khamenei, after the elder Khamenei was killed in a Feb. 28 strike that marked the beginning of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, according to Reuters. Iranian authorities have provided limited public information about Mojtaba Khamenei’s condition and activities since then.

A senior Basij official, Qasem Qoraishi, said Sunday that footage and other documentation showing Khamenei among the public and meeting with military commanders would be released in the future, apparently in response to speculation surrounding his absence from public view.

The tensions have also spread beyond the Strait of Hormuz. Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement said Sunday it had launched a drone attack against Saudi Aramco’s Jazan refinery, shortly after Saudi Arabia signed a defense pact with Turkey and Pakistan. Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry confirmed that a fire broke out at the facility but said it was later extinguished and that there were no injuries. The ministry did not identify the cause of the fire.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree claimed the refinery was targeted by a drone. The group also reported missile and drone attacks against the Yemeni Red Sea port of Mocha, which is controlled by the internationally recognized government backed by Riyadh. Yemeni government sources said air defenses were engaging drones launched toward the port’s commercial facilities and storage areas.

The Jazan refinery has a processing capacity of about 400,000 barrels of crude oil per day. Reuters reported that the facility had already been shut in late July after an earlier Houthi attack damaged parts of the plant, including its integrated gasification complex and tank farm.

Saudi Arabia’s new defense agreement with Turkey and Pakistan was signed Friday as regional security concerns intensified. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the pact was not directed specifically against Iran but represented a general commitment to the security of the three countries. The developments highlight how the conflict involving Iran is increasingly affecting major energy and maritime corridors across the Middle East.

While negotiations involving Iran and Oman offer a possible pathway toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the continuing attacks on energy infrastructure and shipping show that a diplomatic agreement alone may not immediately restore normal commercial activity.

For now, the proposed Hormuz arrangement remains dependent on a sequence of commitments between Washington and Tehran, while attacks involving Iran-aligned groups continue to add pressure to an already fragile regional security environment.