Iran said on Saturday that a deal with Oman on control of the Strait of Hormuz was close but would not be enough to free up the waterway, and the United Arab Emirates said Iran had hit another ship there.
A U.S. official, who declined to be identified, said on Friday that Washington anticipated an agreement soon between Iran and Oman, which sit on either side of the strait, so that normal oil traffic could resume.
Agreement between the two countries over control of the strategic waterway is seen as crucial to a wider agreement to end the conflict that began with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Iran and Oman were "very close" to agreement on a new shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz but that reopening the strait depended on other conditions, including U.S. compensation to Iran.
The previous shipping traffic separation scheme through the strait was no longer acceptable to Tehran, he said, adding that Iran was discussing a temporary route with Oman while technical and legal issues surrounding a permanent route were resolved.
Iran has responded to the U.S. attacks by targeting U.S. bases in Gulf states and Jordan, and shipping in the narrow strait, which carried a fifth of the world's oil and gas shipments before the war.
The UAE said on Saturday that Iran had attacked a carrier affiliated with its state oil company with a missile as it transited the Strait of Hormuz, with no injuries reported, in the latest escalation in attacks on shipping there.
There was no immediate comment from Iranian authorities. Iranian media quoted the UAE report without including the part in which the country blamed Iran for the attack.
U.S. TO LIFT IRAN BLOCKADE ONCE DEAL IS ANNOUNCED, OFFICIAL SAYS
In recent weeks, the Trump administration has repeatedly signaled that a deal to open the strait could be close, only to have Iran deny that talks are under way. It was unclear whether the latest flurry of negotiations would yield a more lasting arrangement.
"There is progress between Oman and Iran on the strait, and we expect a deal soon," a U.S. official told Reuters on Friday. "Once the deal is announced to restore commercial shipping without impediments, the United States will lift the blockade of Iranian ports."
"As always, U.S. actions will continue to be performance-based and tied to Iran’s implementation of its commitments," the official said.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards also said on Saturday that re-opening the Strait of Hormuz depended on Washington accepting Iran's conditions and was not related to the Iran-Oman negotiations.
Guards spokesperson Hossein Mohebbi did not specify the conditions but said Washington must stop interfering in the regional negotiation process.
"Whenever the United States accepts Iran’s conditions, the Strait of Hormuz will certainly be reopened," he said, according to Iran's Tasnim news agency.
SOURCES SAID THIS WEEK A DEAL WOULD GIVE IRAN SOME CONTROL
A proposed deal between Iran and Oman to help end five months of war between Iran and the U.S. would give Tehran control over ships entering the Gulf through the strait, a senior Iranian source and two regional officials told Reuters on Wednesday, one of the biggest concessions yet to Iran.
U.S. officials have repeatedly insisted they would never agree to Iran controlling access to the world's most important trade route for energy supplies. It was not clear whether they had sought to change the parameters of the deal.
Iran has used the hostilities to justify charging a toll on oil tankers. That, and the firing on ships that attempt to cross the strait without its permission, has badly disrupted global shipments, causing energy prices to surge and fueling inflation.
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, one of the world's largest energy producers, said on Friday that 15 of its vessels had been struck in what it called unprovoked attacks while transiting the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the conflict. The attacks have killed one crew member and wounded 20 others, it said.
Iranian media often report attacks on ships saying they violated Iran's directives, without specifying that Iran was behind the attacks.
Iranian strikes on Strait of Hormuz shipping have been coupled with increased attacks by its Yemen-based allies, the Houthis, who have targeted ships at another oil chokepoint on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula between the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
Source: Reuters
--Agencies
