DUBAI | Iran and Oman have reached agreements on the division of control and revenues linked to the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, but the waterway will not be fully reopened unless the United States accepts conditions set by Tehran, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Wednesday.
The announcement, reported by Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency and cited by Reuters, marks a potentially significant step in efforts to restore commercial shipping through the narrow waterway. However, it does not yet guarantee a return to normal maritime traffic.
Iran and Oman have been holding talks for weeks over arrangements for managing traffic through Hormuz. The discussions have included proposals for a temporary shipping corridor and the removal of mines from the waterway. Reuters reported that the talks had been delayed by disagreements involving the United States.
Shipping through the strait remains severely reduced. Kpler data cited by Reuters showed that only five commodity vessels crossed Hormuz on Tuesday, compared with a 10-day average of about 15. Earlier this month, shipping traffic also fell sharply as vessel operators avoided the area amid continuing hostilities.
The disruption has major implications for the global economy because Hormuz is one of the world’s most important energy chokepoints. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said oil flows through the strait averaged about 20.9 million barrels per day in the first half of 2025, equivalent to roughly one-fifth of global petroleum consumption. About one-fifth of global liquefied natural gas trade also passed through the waterway.
The scale of the disruption in 2026 has already been substantial. EIA estimates that oil and petroleum product flows through Hormuz fell to an average of just 4.9 million barrels per day in the second quarter of 2026, down from 21.6 million barrels per day in the final quarter of 2025 before the conflict began.
The economic pressure is also being felt inside Iran. The Associated Press reported Wednesday that long lines have formed at gasoline stations in Tehran, with some motorists waiting for hours as fuel shortages worsen under a tightening U.S. blockade and sanctions. Iran’s leaders have so far shown no indication that they are prepared to yield to Washington’s demands despite growing economic hardship.
The United States has continued to intensify economic pressure on Tehran. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said last week that Washington would impose what he described as the toughest sanctions in history and urged other countries to cooperate.
Hormuz has long been a flashpoint in Middle Eastern geopolitics. The strait, situated between Iran and Oman, links the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. Because few alternative routes can carry comparable volumes of oil, even temporary disruption can raise shipping costs and global energy prices.
For now, the Iran-Oman agreement represents diplomatic progress, but the key question remains whether it can produce a sustained reopening of the waterway. Until shipping resumes at substantially higher levels, the crisis will continue to pose risks to global energy supplies, trade and prices.
Edgardo Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
- EDGARDO HERNAL
- EDGARDO HERNAL
- EDGARDO HERNAL
- EDGARDO HERNAL
