IRAN-OMAN HORMUZ PLAN TESTS U.S. RED LINES

Developing story: Omani, Iranian, U.S. or Egyptian statements could change the status of the proposed Hormuz route plan and the diplomatic risk around it.

Iran’s talks with Oman over a plan to manage shipping through the Strait of Hormuz have become a test of U.S. red lines after Tehran said the waterway would remain closed until Washington meets Iranian conditions. The plan is no longer a technical navigation issue; it is now a question of whether Iran can claim a formal role over a global energy chokepoint while the United States maintains blockade pressure.

Iran has been holding separate talks with Oman on a route-management plan and said it was finalizing details for a joint statement, according to the Associated Press. The talks follow the expiration of the June negotiating window with the United States and come as tanker traffic remains severely constrained after vessel attacks and competing claims of control.

An Iranian official said the strait would not reopen until the United States fulfills commitments Iran says were made under the June framework. Those demands include lifting the blockade, releasing frozen assets, lifting oil sanctions, ending threats and military operations, and implementing other conditions Tehran says Washington accepted.

The United States has not accepted Iran’s framing. President Donald Trump previously called the interim deal over, and AP reported that he reacted angrily to the Oman talks, reportedly saying in a Fox News interview that the United States would bomb Oman if it “gets in the way.” That threat sharply raises the diplomatic risk for Muscat, a longtime U.S. security partner and traditional mediator in U.S.-Iran disputes.

Oman’s position is delicate because geography and diplomacy overlap. It sits opposite Iran along the strait and has often been useful to Washington precisely because it can talk to Tehran. A Hormuz transit plan without Oman is difficult to imagine, but a plan that appears to give Iran too much authority may be unacceptable to Washington and Gulf exporters.

The reported route structure would separate traffic patterns through the strait and could reduce immediate confusion for ships, but the political question is who controls permission, enforcement and incident response. If Iran retains effective veto power over inbound traffic, the plan could be seen by its opponents as formalizing the leverage Tehran has created by force.

Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said after talks with Oman that an Iranian-Omani deal could pave the way for Washington and Tehran to return to negotiations for a comprehensive and permanent agreement. That statement presents the plan as a diplomatic bridge. It does not resolve whether the United States would accept the route terms or whether shipping companies would trust them.

What is confirmed is that Iran and Oman are working toward a Hormuz statement while Tehran continues to demand U.S. concessions before reopening the strait. What remains unresolved is whether the plan can restore commercial transit, whether Washington will accept any Iranian role, and whether Oman can mediate without becoming a target of U.S. pressure.

Fact-check date: August 18, 2026. Article type: News. Sources: Associated Press; Reuters. Developing note: Omani, Iranian, U.S. or Egyptian statements could change the status of the proposed Hormuz route plan and the diplomatic risk around it.