The world's oil gate may soon belong to Iran
DUBAI/RIYADH: A proposed deal between Iran and Oman would give Tehran control over ships entering the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, a senior Iranian
DUBAI/RIYADH: A proposed deal between Iran and Oman would give Tehran control over ships entering the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, a senior Iranian source and two regional officials told Reuters on Wednesday, in one of the biggest concessions yet to Iran.Despite the apparent step towards yielding to Iranian demands, the sources pushed back against assertions by U.S. President Donald Trump that a deal reopening the strait was imminent, saying important details still had to be agreed."The concession has already been made regarding some form of control over Hormuz," one of the regional sources told Reuters.Also Read:Hormuz reopening deal by Wednesday, says TrumpThe other regional source said there were still details to be determined about how "control" would be defined, with Gulf negotiators insisting regional countries supervise inspections of ships, and that any payment of fees be voluntary.The senior Iranian source said that the text of an agreement already on the table envisioned Iran having control of ships heading into the Gulf through the strait, and that one of the main sticking points was what role Iran would also have over ships heading in the opposite direction.There was no immediate reply from Washington to the disclosures about the proposed agreement.U.S. officials have repeatedly insisted that they would never accept any arrangement that lets Iran control access to the world's most important trade route for energy supplies.
But Trump and senior officials in his administration have said in recent days that a deal is imminent to end the war he launched in February and which polls show most U.S. voters oppose.OIL PRICES TICK HIGHER AFTER RED SEA ATTACKOil prices ticked higher on Wednesday after the Iran-aligned Houthi movement in Yemen said it had fired on a Saudi-flagged tanker in the Red Sea, the latest attack on Middle East shipping that has disrupted global energy supplies.But global crude prices remain close to their lowest levels since early July, having plunged sharply over the past two days after Trump called off fresh attacks on Iran citing new talks he said could end the conflict.While there are no direct talks between Tehran and Washington, Iran has been negotiating with Oman, which controls the opposite shore of the strait. Iran rejected an earlier Omani proposal last week as giving it too little say.TRUMP SAYS TALKS 'MOVING ALONG NICELY'Trump told Fox News overnight that talks were "moving along nicely" and "an all-day negotiation" had taken place on Tuesday.The Strait of Hormuz "is going to be open very soon," Trump added. "If they back out again, they are going to get hit really hard."Over the weekend Trump cited the negotiations as the reason for a decision to call off plans for "massive attacks" on Iran, a pattern he has repeated numerous times throughout the war.The senior Iranian source downplayed the suggestion that a deal would be finalised quickly, noting that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi was on holiday."Talks are continuing, but it is too early to say that a deal with Oman has been finalised," the senior Iranian source said.Another Iranian source said: "The devil is in the details.
The BriefWire