Iran and Oman agree on coordinates of route through strait of Hormuz, says Iranian foreign ministry – as it happened | US-Israel war on Iran
Iran and Oman agreed on coordinates of route through Hormuz, Iran’s foreign ministry says
The geographic coordinates for a shipping route through the strait of Hormuz have been agreed by Iran and Oman, and a joint announcement is being finalised, provided no third parties interfere, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Wednesday.
Baghaei added that any such agreement between Iran and Oman would not, by itself, guarantee security in the strategic waterway.
Key events
The day so far
-
Iran and Oman have agreed a route for ships transiting the strait of Hormuz and are finalising the draft deal for jointly managing the waterway, Tehran’s foreign ministry said Wednesday. But, spokesperson Esmaeil Baghei stressed that any reopening of the strait would depend on the United States fulfilling what Tehran sees as its commitment to end its own naval blockade of Iran’s ports. A joint statement will be issued from Iran and Oman “if certain parties do not obstruct this process” , Baghei said, apparently referring to the US. Two regional officials briefed on the negotiations told the AP that the potential deal was a temporary solution to the dispute over the strait, and will pave the way for the US and Iran to resume negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear program.
-
Israel launched attacks in southern Lebanon after accusing Hezbollah of violating the ceasefire, despite ongoing US-mediated peace talks between Israel and Lebanon in Rome. At least one person was killed and 11 others injured in Israeli strikes on the southern town of Tibnin. The strikes came after the IDF issued a warning for people in the southern village of Mansouri to flee their homes – the first time in more than a month that the military had issued such an order ahead of an imminent strike. It comes as the United Nations said more than 800,000 people displaced by war have begun returning to their homes in Lebanon.
-
Oil prices rose after Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels said they targeted a Saudi oil tanker in the Red Sea as part of their naval blockade of Saudi Arabia. Brent crude futures were up 81 cents, or 1.02%, at $80.17 a barrel by 12pm GMT. US West Texas Intermediate futures gained 34 cents, or 0.45%, to $76.11. The Houthis said they had launched a missile attack on a Saudi oil tanker off the coast of Yanbu, a key port for Saudi crude oil exports. This is the eighth ship they have attacked since 22 July, when they announced that they were imposing a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia.
Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian said in an interview aired by state TV on Wednesday that interaction with the country’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is currently “very difficult”.
Mojtaba has not made any public appearances since he became supreme leader, replacing his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in one of the first strikes launched against Iran by the US and Israel.
More on the Houthi attacks. The group “successfully targeted the Saudi oil tanker Wafa in the northern Red Sea, off the coast of Yanbu, with a number of ballistic missiles,” spokesman Yahya Saree said in a video statement.
In a later statement, Saree said the rebels targeted the “Saudi oil tanker Daisy in the Gulf of Aden with a ballistic missile”, referring to the waterway that connects to the Red Sea.
The Houthis declared they will escalate attacks in the northern Red Sea because Saudi Arabia is diverting its oil tankers there from the south in response to their blockade.
Nine Saudi oil tankers have been targeted since the start of the blockade last month, according to figures given by a Houthi military spokesman.
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said they targeted a Saudi Arabian oil vessel in the Gulf of Aden, the group’s military spokesperson said in a statement, Reuters reported.
The Houthis said they also launched a missile attack on a Saudi oil tanker off the coast of the kingdom’s Red Sea port city of Yanbu.
There was no confirmation from Saudi Arabia on either incident.
The Houthis’ military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, did not say when the attacks took place.
On Tuesday, the Houthis warned shipping companies that their tankers risk being attacked if they use Saudi Arabian ports.
The Houthis imposed a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea last month in response to what they described as a Saudi siege on Yemen, an allegation Riyadh has denied.
US Central Command said its forces have redirected 48 commercial vessels, disabled two and boarded two as part of its Iran blockade.
Vessels in the strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, on 3 August.
According to the Associated Press, Iranian and Omani negotiators have finalised the draft deal to reopen the strait of Hormuz and are awaiting final approval from Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.
A reminder that Khamenei is believed to have been injured in the war’s opening strikes on 28 February and has not been seen in public since then.
Two regional officials briefed on the negotiations portrayed the potential deal to the AP as a temporary solution to the dispute over the strait. They said it is tied to an agreement reached between the US and Iran in June that aimed at ending the fighting and reopening the waterway, but ultimately collapsed.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private talks, told the AP that the potential deal will pave the way for the US and Iran to resume negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear program.
Earlier, they had said the possible agreement would have ships enter the Persian Gulf through an Iranian-controlled route and exit through a route controlled by Oman. Service fees would be charged for providing security and preserving the maritime environment, the officials said.
The US has said it is strongly opposed to any arrangement that would see Iran charge fees.
As we reported earlier, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, Esmaeil Baghaei, said that the agreement with Oman is in the “final stage” of drafting, and that a joint statement will be issued “if certain parties do not obstruct this process” – apparently referring to the United States.
The UK’s Maritime Trade Operations centre (UKMTO) has said that a vessel off the coast of Yemen has reported a loud explosion nearby.
The incident took place 95 nautical miles (176kms) southeast of Aden, UKMTO said in an update shared on X, adding that all the vessels’ crew are “accounted for and safe”.
More on that now. According to Iranian state news agency IRNA, foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghei said: “The geographical coordinates of the route envisaged by the two sides have been agreed upon and, if certain third parties do not obstruct the process, the joint statement of the two countries, containing the main considerations and points of agreement, is also in the final review and drafting stage.”
According to the report, Baghei told reporters that talks with Oman were moving forward, but that even if an understanding was reached, it would not mean that the strait had become safe for all passing vessels.
“The factors making the Strait of Hormuz insecure still exist on the part of the United States, particularly the naval blockade and other aggressive and threatening actions against Iran and its interests,” he said.
Iran and Oman agreed on coordinates of route through Hormuz, Iran’s foreign ministry says
The geographic coordinates for a shipping route through the strait of Hormuz have been agreed by Iran and Oman, and a joint announcement is being finalised, provided no third parties interfere, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Wednesday.
Baghaei added that any such agreement between Iran and Oman would not, by itself, guarantee security in the strategic waterway.
As we reported earlier, oil prices rose on Wednesday after Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels said they attacked a Saudi oil tanker in the Red Sea, denting hopes of a de-escalation in Iran war hostilities that could restore shipping traffic and oil flows in the region.
Brent crude futures were up 81 cents, or 1.02%, at $80.17 a barrel by 12pm GMT. US West Texas Intermediate futures gained 34 cents, or 0.45%, to $76.11.
The Houthis said they had launched a missile attack on a Saudi oil tanker off the coast of Yanbu, a key port for Saudi crude oil exports. This is the eighth ship they have attacked since 22 July, when they announced that they were imposing a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia.
There is a “50-50” chance that Iran and Oman will reach a deal to reopen the strait of Hormuz on Friday, a senior Gulf official familiar with the talks has told CNN, despite Donald Trump suggesting an agreement could come as early as Wednesday.
As we reported earlier, Iran has said its talks with Oman to reopen the strait of Hormuz were progressing “positively”.
The Gulf source told CNN that the Iranian delegation does not include the voice of the hardline Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which would have to sign off on the details of a provisional agreement.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump has claimed a deal could be reached on Wednesday, with continued diplomatic efforts potentially paving the way for US-Iran talks to resume. “It could happen. Tomorrow or the next day,” the US president told reporters on Tuesday night. “A lot of progress has been made.”
It followed similar statements from his secretary of state Marco Rubio and treasury secretary Scott Bessent, both of whom said progress had been made in those talks.
Tehran, however, has denied that it is speaking with Washington and instead focused solely on its negotiations with Oman.
One person killed in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon – report
Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) has reported that one person was killed and 11 others injured in Israeli strikes on the southern town of Tibnin.
The report came moments after the IDF announced it had begun strikes in southern Lebanon. Earlier, the Israeli military had also issued a forced evacuation order for people to flee the southern village of Mansouri.
Here are some of the latest images from Lebanon on the newswires:
IDF says it has begun ‘targeted strikes’ in southern Lebanon
The IDF has issued a brief update saying it has begun “targeted strikes” in southern Lebanon, which it said were in response to Hezbollah breaching the ceasefire.
It came shortly after the IDF ordered people to flee the village of Mansouri (see previous post). We will bring you more as we get it.
IDF issues order for people to flee homes in southern Lebanon village
The Israeli military has issued a warning for people in the southern Lebanese village of Mansouri to flee their homes. It is the first time in more than a month that the military has issued such an order ahead of an imminent strike.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has ordered people to immediately leave their homes and move at least 1km north of the village, which is located inside an area of southern Lebanon occupied by the Israeli military. It claimed Hezbollah has breached the ceasefire agreement signed by Israel and Lebanon in June, compelling the IDF to “act forcefully against it”.
Since the start of the war in March, the IDF has repeatedly ordered people to leave their homes in several towns and villages in southern Lebanon and head north, including after the ceasefire was announced. The war has displaced more than one million people, many of whom have been forced to flee multiple times.
Today’s warning came as the UN said more than 800,000 people displaced by war have begun returning to their homes, while officials from Lebanon and Israel continued US-sponsored talks in Rome aimed at ending the fighting.
Oil prices rise as cost of filling up a tank of diesel reaches £100
Julia Kollewe
After oil prices fell sharply in the last couple of days on hopes of an interim deal that would allow safe traffic through the strait of Hormuz, crude is on the rise again.
Brent crude is back above $80 a barrel, rising 1% to $80.2 a barrel.
The cost of filling up a tank of diesel has also reached £100 in the UK while petrol prices hit a new Iran war high – bad news for families heading on their summer getaways.
The average price of a litre of petrol in the UK rose to a new Iran war high of 161.5p on Wednesday, a jump of nearly 11p since its 6 July low, up 7%, the RAC motoring group reports.
Diesel has gone up even more, rising almost 17p a litre to 181.5p – a rise of 10% – since a conflict low point of 164.5p on 9 July.
For the latest on the war’s impact on global markets, oil prices and the wider economy, follow our business live blog:
One idea being floated is for Iran to control the route for ships entering the Gulf, while Oman would be responsible for the exit route. The Associated Press spoke to two regional officials familiar with the Iran-Oman talks who said service fees would be charged for keeping ships safe and protecting the waters.
Iran has repeatedly said the strait of Hormuz will not operate as it did before the war, as it seeks to secure a greater role in managing the critical shipping route. The Trump administration, however, has rejected any deal that would allow Iran such control.
“I’m not going to let them charge,” Donald Trump told reporters on Monday. “Anybody’s going to charge, we’ll charge.”
US and Iran signal hope for Hormuz deal but terms of agreement remain unclear
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the Middle East.
US officials, including Donald Trump, have said a deal over the strait of Hormuz could be reached today, with continued diplomatic efforts potentially paving the way for US-Iran talks to resume.
“It could happen. Tomorrow or the next day,” the US president told reporters last night. “A lot of progress has been made.”
That optimism was shared by Iran, which said talks with Oman to reopen the critical shipping route were progressing “positively”.
It followed similar statements by the US’s secretary of state Marco Rubio and treasury secretary Scott Bessent, both of whom said progress had been made in those talks.
It remains to be seen what any agreement would include, as Iran has pushed for greater control of the strait of Hormuz, which carried about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supply before the war, while the US has firmly rejected those demands. The strait has been effectively shut since 28 February, causing global energy prices to rocket.
A deal also does not guarantee that the strait of Hormuz would be reopened anytime soon, according to Iran’s state media. A central demand from Tehran has been the removal of the US naval blockade on Iranian ports, and it has threatened to keep the strait shut if “the United States continues to threaten Iran”. Both countries have accused each other of breaching the memorandum of understanding signed in June, which held for about a week before fresh hostilities erupted in the Gulf.
Citing an “informed source”, Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) reported:
The possible agreement between Iran and Oman on arrangements for vessels to pass through the strait of Hormuz has nothing to do with the immediate opening of the strait.
Negotiations regarding arrangements for vessel traffic through the strait of Hormuz are purely Iranian-Omani and have no connection to the United States.
If US violations continue, the strait of Hormuz will not open even with an agreement between Iran and Oman.
The opening of the strait of Hormuz depends on a change in behaviour and correction of US violations.
