Iran rejects Oman Strait of Hormuz proposal, offers counterplan

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Tuesday that Tehran has rejected an Omani proposal to divide transit routes through the Strait of Hormuz equally between the two countries. Gharibabadi told Iranian state television that the plan would not address Tehran's security concerns unless comprehensive regional stability is achieved. The Iranian official said Tehran instead offered Muscat a temporary arrangement under which traffic in one direction would pass through Iranian territorial waters and a portion of traffic in the opposite direction would also route through Iranian waters. Gharibabadi warned that if Muscat rejects the Iranian proposal, the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed and that Tehran has never recognized the southern transit route along the Omani coast. On the same day, Oman put forward a joint regional mechanism for managing the Strait of Hormuz, financed through voluntary transit fees. According to a Gulf source cited by Reuters, the proposal, which has drawn regional support, would prevent Iran from exercising sole control over the strategic waterway. The plan is modeled on the Malacca Strait system, in which users voluntarily finance transit services.