Iran would control inbound Gulf shipping and collect security fees under a deal with Oman. US Secretary of State Rubio warned the arrangement would set a dangerous precedent for international waterways.
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Iran and Oman are close to an agreement that would hand Tehran formal oversight of vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a senior Iranian source told Reuters. The proposal would replace the waterway's long-standing status as an open international passage with a joint Iranian-Omani management structure. US officials rejected the framework outright.
Under the plan, ships entering the Persian Gulf would use the northern shipping lane closer to Iran's coastline. Outbound vessels would travel the southern lane near Oman. Tehran would exercise full control over inbound shipping, requiring Iranian clearance for vessels entering the Gulf. Outbound traffic would be handled by Oman after notifying Iranian authorities, the source said.
The proposal introduces a financial component. Iranian officials said Tehran does not plan to impose formal transit tolls. Instead, it would collect what it calls "service fees" tied to security and environmental protection for oil tankers passing through the strait. The source described the fees as essentially tolls. Revenue from those payments would be split evenly between Iran and Oman.
A US official rejected the claim that ships would need Iranian approval to transit the strait. The official denied that any arrangement involving payments to Tehran had been accepted. The disagreement underscores the gap between Washington and Tehran over the future governance of the waterway.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has warned against any agreement that fails to restore the Strait of Hormuz as a fully open international passage. Allowing a country to control access to an international waterway, impose fees on transit, and condition navigation rights on political approval would create a dangerous precedent that other nations could replicate, Rubio said.
The Iranian source described the proposal as a temporary framework aimed at restoring commercial flows while maintaining security oversight after the conflict. A framework that reopens the strait could reduce the immediate risk of supply disruptions and support normal shipping activity. The prospect of Iran gaining a formal role in supervising traffic through the chokepoint remains a source of geopolitical tension, given strong opposition from Washington and its allies.
Oil prices have held elevated levels as uncertainty around US-Iran talks and the risk of weekend strikes keeps the market on edge.
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