Iran said Monday that its only current negotiations are with Oman to discuss the future of the Strait of Hormuz.
Denying President Trump’s claim that the U.S. and Iran would restart negotiations on Monday, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said: “Our negotiations are with Oman and are focused on reaching an understanding on a route that will ensure the safe passage of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.”
“Our goal is to determine, as soon as possible and in consultation with Oman, a route that will likely be temporary and will enable safe maritime navigation through the Strait,” he added.
The two countries have had “constructive discussions over the past eight days regarding reaching an agreement on a new route,” he said, which would have “both an inbound and outbound route, not two or three separate routes.”
“This middle route is intended to be used temporarily until an agreement is reached on a permanent route,” he said.
Iran has insisted that ships navigating through the waterway should use a route designated by them after requesting permission and paying service fees.
Tehran’s stranglehold on the strategic waterway – through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas passed pre-war – has put pressure on President Trump: Rising energy prices have hurt Americans at the pump and made the war unpopular, but walking away now, without any real gains from the conflict, would make the president look weak.
Baqaei said Sunday that the status quo in the strait “will in no way return to the status it was before February 28th,” the day the war started.