Iran warns Oman it will manage Strait of Hormuz alone if no cooperation

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran's Foreign Ministry has warned Oman that it will act unilaterally in managing the Strait of Hormuz if cooperation is not secured, Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi told reporters. Gharibabadi said Oman had expressed willingness to take part in overseeing the strategic waterway, but that Tehran would determine transit routes and would not permit alternative passages. Gharibabadi added that Iranian and Omani experts would hold talks on the Strait of Hormuz in the coming days, with Tehran having notified Muscat of the planned discussions. He had earlier announced on X that Iran and Oman held the first meeting of a Joint Strait of Hormuz Commission in Muscat, where the two sides addressed the waterway's future administration under a temporary agreement signed this month between Tehran and Washington. Separately, French President Emmanuel Macron and Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tariq reaffirmed that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea provides a binding legal framework for the Strait of Hormuz and other maritime zones, including the Arabian Sea. The two leaders stressed the need to reduce regional tensions and ensure the security of navigation, and underlined the importance of reopening the strait with unimpeded freedom of transit, without conditions or restrictions.