Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday, 3 August that negotiations between Iran and Oman are centred on designating a temporary corridor to ensure safe commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The talks, he said, are in advanced stages and aim to establish an intermediate route before a permanent solution is finalised.

What the Proposed Route Entails

Speaking at a weekly press conference in Tehran, Baghaei said the discussions revolve around merging two existing paths — the southern route through Oman's waters and the northern route through Iran's territorial waters — into a single intermediate corridor. He clarified that the envisaged arrangement is a round-trip passage, not multiple separate lanes, and will remain in place temporarily until a permanent route is agreed upon.

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi had separately indicated at a cabinet meeting in Tehran on Sunday that the Iran-Oman negotiations are in their final stages, according to official Iranian reports.

Iran's Position on the Strait's Closure

Baghaei attributed the disruption to the waterway not to any bilateral dispute with Oman, but to what he described as US-Israeli 'military aggression' against Iran. He stated that the strait's status would remain unchanged for as long as Washington continues what he called its 'malicious' actions against the country. The characterisation underscores Tehran's framing of the Hormuz situation as a direct consequence of external military pressure rather than a regional maritime disagreement.

Trump Signals Talks, Mentions Hormuz and Nuclear Deals

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that negotiations with Iran were set to begin Monday afternoon, noting that Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Qatar had urged Washington to stand down from planned strikes because, in his words, 'they think there's a deal.' Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Joint Base Andrews, Trump said: 'There's a deal on (the Strait of) Hormuz, and then there will be a deal on the nuclear, or you might call it the denuclearisation of Iran.' He also claimed that Iran had itself requested the US to pull back the planned strikes, adding that Washington was now pursuing a negotiated path.

Separately, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud spoke by phone with Trump on Saturday and, according to a US official cited by Axios, 'expressed concern and asked for clarity' about the proposed plan of action against Iran.

Iran-Ukraine Tensions Over Caspian Sea Incident

Baghaei also addressed a separate flashpoint at the press conference, warning that Iran would take 'every necessary action' to hold Ukraine accountable for a recent attack on an Iranian vessel. On 25 July, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Ukrainian forces had struck a Russian warship and vessels reportedly used to transport Iran-linked military cargo in the Caspian Sea. Tehran has disputed the characterisation and signalled a firm response.

What Comes Next

The convergence of Iran-Oman maritime talks, US-Iran diplomatic signalling, and Gulf state lobbying marks a rare moment of multilateral pressure on the Hormuz question. Whether the temporary corridor agreement translates into a durable arrangement — and whether it unlocks broader nuclear negotiations — will depend heavily on the pace and outcome of the US-Iran talks that were set to begin this week.