TEHRAN, Iran: Negotiations between Iran and Oman on establishing a temporary safe shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz have reached their “final stage”, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday.
Baghaei said an understanding between the two countries on establishing a temporary safe route will be registered with the International Maritime Organisation in the coming days.
“Probably within the coming days, the understanding between the two countries to determine a temporary safe route will be registered with the International Maritime Organisation,” the spokesman said, according to Iran’s ISNA news agency.
بقائی: مذاکرات ایران و عمان برای تعیین مسیرهای امن در تنگه هرمز به مرحله نهایی رسیده و احتمالاً ظرف روزهای آینده، تفاهم دو کشور برای تعیین مسیر موقت امن نزد سازمان بینالمللی دریانوردی ثبت خواهد شد؛ امیدوارم که دوباره برخی طرفهای بدسگال در این روند مداخله نکنند
— خبرگزاری ایسنا (@isna_farsi) September 7, 2026
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important energy shipping routes. Its disruption has sharply reduced commercial traffic and raised concerns over the security of vessels using the waterway.
Hormuz traffic falls to lowest level
Shipping traffic through the strait has fallen to its lowest level since May, according to data from analytics firm Kpler cited by Reuters news agency.
Kpler recorded an average of 10 ships a day transiting the waterway on Sunday. The 10-day average stood at 13 on Saturday and was above 15 on Friday, Reuters reported.
Only two vessels crossed the strait on Saturday and six on Sunday, with most using a route through Iranian waters, according to the report.
The decline came amid a renewed flare-up in fighting between Iran and the United States. Washington said on Saturday it had struck and disabled three Iranian oil tankers in retaliation for earlier attacks.
Also Read: Oil Prices Near $97 As Hormuz Disruption Deepens Supply Fears
Tehran subsequently said it had targeted vessels travelling along routes it considers unauthorised.
Traffic has remained volatile since a period of relative calm in the fighting after the signing of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the US and Iran. It is also still far below pre-war levels of about 130 vessel transits a day, according to the Reuters report.
Iran warns South Korea
Iran also warned South Korea against deploying military assets or otherwise becoming involved in US operations in and around the Strait of Hormuz.
Baghaei said on Monday that any military deployment by other countries in the Gulf or the strait would have “serious consequences”.
The warning followed comments by Seoul last Friday that it would consider participating in naval operations, provided doing so did not undermine its own military readiness. South Korea said no decision had been made.
Baghaei accused Seoul of coming under US pressure and warned against what he described as “intimidation”.
He said participation by other countries in operations in the Gulf or Strait of Hormuz would amount to direct support for what Tehran considers the party responsible for the aggression against Iran.
이란과 대한민국의 관계는 64년이 넘는 역사를 지니고 있으며, 양국 관계는 줄곧 상호 존중을 바탕으로 발전해 왔습니다. 이란은 대한민국과의 우호 관계를 매우 중요하게 여기고 있습니다.
그러나 현재 이란 국민이 미국의 침략적 행위에 맞서 자위하고 있으며, 여성과 어린이를 상대로 한 미국의… pic.twitter.com/ThlIXzIyIN
— Esmaeil Baqaei (@IRIMFA_SPOX) September 7, 2026
Iran has also said it plans to establish an “exclusion zone” outside the Strait of Hormuz for vessels it believes are attempting to transit the waterway.
Mohsen Rezaei, the new head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, told Iranian state television that the zone would be announced in the coming days or weeks.
He gave few details but said it would begin at the line of what he described as the US naval blockade and extend towards the Strait of Hormuz and into the Gulf.
The comments came a day after the United States struck three Iranian oil tankers.
Iran-Oman talks on permanent corridor
Iran and Oman have been negotiating for weeks over the management of shipping through the strait.
In a joint statement issued late last month, the two countries said they had exchanged views on a phased framework that included establishing a temporary joint shipping corridor and jointly clearing mines from the waterway.
Technical discussions are expected to continue on a permanent shipping corridor, the future administration of the strait, information-sharing, traffic management and security arrangements, according to the statement.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said the proposed temporary arrangement would route traffic entering the Arabian Sea from the Gulf of Oman entirely through Iranian waters. Outbound traffic would pass partly through Iranian waters and partly through Omani territorial waters.
Also Read: US Military Destroys 3 Iranian Oil Tankers: CENTCOM
He said Iran and Oman would then hold negotiations for 30 to 60 days to reach an understanding on a new permanent and sustainable route.
Baghaei said the negotiations had at times faced obstruction and interference by third parties, but that consultations between Tehran and Muscat had now reached their final stages.
Iran said in mid-August that it had reached an understanding with Oman on a “shipping traffic map” for the strait and that talks had progressed despite what it described as US obstruction.
Strait of Hormuz disruption
The latest negotiations come after months of disruption to shipping through the strategic waterway.
Iran tightened restrictions on the strait on February 28, barring what it described as safe passage for vessels belonging to or affiliated with Israel and the United States following joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
Iran and Oman have since sought to establish arrangements for managing commercial traffic while broader negotiations continue.
On August 26, Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi met his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, in Tehran to discuss a phased approach to managing ship traffic.
Before the conflict, about one-fifth of the world’s traded oil passed through the Strait of Hormuz.
