Strait of Hormuz Set to Reopen? Qatar Enters Crucial Iran-Oman Talks in Muscat

As US-Iran tensions rise, Muscat talks with Qatar, Iran, and Oman focus on reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

As fresh tensions flare between Washington and Tehran, threatening an already fragile US-Iran ceasefire, attention has shifted to Muscat, where quiet, yet crucial diplomacy is underway. Qatar joined Iran and Oman at the table. The talks are reportedly focused on easing concerns around the Strait of Hormuz. The Strait of Hormuz is a key global shipping route, which prior to joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28 was used to transit about one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies.

Qatari officials are participating in the talks between Iran and Oman in Muscat over the Strait of Hormuz, Axios reported. The parties are discussing “a potential statement on full opening of the median lane in the Strait of Hormuz (which is in international waters) for full and free movement,” the report quoted a source as saying.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Muscat on Saturday and met his Omani counterpart, Badr al-Busaidi. The talks were focused on bilateral relations and regional developments, especially regarding the Strait of Hormuz, reports said. According to a post on Araghchi’s official Telegram page, cited by Al Jazeera, the two ministers “exchanged views on appropriate mechanisms for the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz,” in accordance with the US-Iran MoU.

Araghchi’s visit is “part of ongoing bilateral consultations between Iran and Oman on regional developments, particularly the issue of the Strait of Hormuz,” according to a statement from Esmaeil Baghaei, spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The foreign ministers “will discuss and exchange views on establishing appropriate mechanisms to ensure the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz,” Baghaei said, earlier today.

The US and Iran Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed on June 18, suggests that Tehran will “conduct dialogue” with Oman “to define the future administration and maritime services” in the Strait of Hormuz.

While US President Donald Trump said that the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding is “over,” but talks with Iran would continue; Iran warned that it will no longer be bound by a deal if violations by the US continue and Washington does not “retreat” from positions, according to reports.

Earlier today, Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei vowed “revenge” for his father’s killing in US-Israel strikes. Ali Khamenei was killed in US-Israel strikes on the first day of the war, February 28, and was buried in his hometown, Mashhad, earlier this week.

A thousand “missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands more to immediately follow, should the Iranian Government act on its threat,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.