Iran has set several conditions for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, including compensation for war damage, an end to sanctions and the lifting of a US naval blockade.
The demands could complicate efforts to restore free passage through the strategic waterway, which is vital to global energy supplies.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said discussions with Oman on transit and management of the strait were “approaching the final stages”.
However, he said reopening the Strait of Hormuz “is subject to other conditions and compensation for the violation” of a June agreement.
Iranian security chief Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr also called for an end to what he described as “war and aggression against Iran and its allies in Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen, and Iraq”.
According to remarks reported by Tasnim news agency, Zolghadr further demanded the lifting of the US naval blockade, an end to sanctions, the release of frozen Iranian assets and compensation for wartime damage.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said separately that reopening the strait had “nothing to do with the negotiations between Iran and Oman”, adding that the “enemy is forced to accept Iran’s conditions for the opening of the strait”.
Attacks disrupt Hormuz traffic
Transit through the Strait of Hormuz has fallen significantly amid repeated attacks on ships that Iran accuses of attempting to bypass its preferred route through Iranian waters.
The United Arab Emirates condemned what it described as a “hostile Iranian attack” on an ADNOC tanker while it was transiting the strait. The UAE said the vessel was struck by a missile but that there were no casualties.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) later reported that a ship was hit by a projectile off Oman in the Strait of Hormuz, causing a fire that was subsequently extinguished. No casualties were reported.
It was unclear whether the two incidents involved the same vessel.
ADNOC said on Friday that 15 of its vessels had been attacked in the strait since the start of the war, including three vessels during the week.
Oman’s foreign ministry condemned the “repeated attacks on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz” without directly naming Iran.
The ministry also said negotiations over navigation arrangements in the strait were continuing in a “positive and constructive atmosphere”, while urging all sides to avoid actions that could undermine progress.
The previous Iran-US agreement, which was intended as a basis for negotiations towards a permanent settlement, stated that Iran and Oman would discuss future arrangements for the strait with other Gulf countries and “in line with the applicable international law”.
International law generally prohibits the imposition of tolls on such waterways.
Turkey expects Egypt to join defence pact
Meanwhile, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said he expected Egypt to join a joint defence agreement involving Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
“I believe that at the next stage Egypt will also be among us in the alliance. We already act toward one another as if we were alliance members,” Fidan said in an interview.
He said the agreement was not directed at any particular country.
“There is no common threat that we have put in writing,” he said, according to the news agency.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry said the agreement means an attack on one member would be regarded as an attack on all, describing the pact as intended to strengthen collective deterrence.
The developments come as diplomatic efforts continue over the future of the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran maintaining that reopening the waterway depends on meeting its conditions.
