Shafaq News- Tehran

Iran and Oman have agreed on a navigation map for ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday, setting out clearer routes for maritime traffic through one of the world's most important oil shipping lanes.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei described talks between Tehran and Muscat as progressing steadily and positively, despite the ‘’US efforts to hinder the process.’’

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has previously framed the talks as separate from any negotiations with the United States, with the discussions focused on technical aspects of maritime traffic, including shipping routes and vessel movements through the Strait.

Araghchi has also drawn a distinction between agreeing on navigation routes and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, maintaining that the resumption of navigation through the waterway would depend on Tehran's conditions being met.

Hormuz, through which roughly 20% of the world's oil passes, has remained largely closed under Iranian restrictions since Feb. 28 in response to the US-Israeli war, disrupting regional energy flows. The strategic waterway briefly reopened after a US-Iran memorandum of understanding (MoU) entered into force on June 18, but closed again amid renewed military escalations, with Tehran maintaining that corridor remains under Iranian control.

Read more: Hormuz shipping plunges with no oil cargoes crossing