On Tuesday, President Donald Trump’s envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff arrived in Doha, Qatar, to continue negotiations with Iran.
Qatari officials said the two would meet with senior Qatari officials, but not with their Iranian counterparts. On Wednesday, US and Iranian technical teams are each expected to hold separate meetings with mediators from Qatar and Pakistan to discuss the future of the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear program.
The dispute over how the Strait should be managed extends beyond the United States and Iran, encompassing a separate disagreement between Iran and Oman, which controls the southern side of the strategic waterway.
Two Western diplomats told The Jerusalem Post that Oman’s proposal for governing the Strait differs significantly from Iran’s. According to the diplomats, Oman proposes charging ships “special service fees” while allowing vessels that choose not to pay to continue transiting the Strait. Iran, by contrast, insists that every vessel passing through must pay the fees.
Oman’s proposal is viewed as being closer to the US position. Secretary of State Marco Rubio underscored that stance several days ago.
Iran pushes for Hormuz tolls
“Fees and tolls are the same thing to me. There isn’t a nation on Earth that supports having to pay money to go through the Strait,” he said.
Iran, which has said it will begin collecting transit fees from vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz after a 60-day negotiation period concludes, is reportedly frustrated that most ships currently transit through Omani territorial waters rather than on Iran’s side of the Gulf.
“Iranian officials have made it clear in discussions with multiple parties that it is unreasonable for ships to pass through without seeking their authorization,” a Western diplomat told the Post.
A source familiar with the matter told the Post that the current practice of vessels using the Omani shipping lane likely prompted Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to deploy naval assets to the area last week and launch at least six drones per day in recent days.
Two vessels were reportedly struck, prompting the US military to carry out strikes against Iranian military targets along the Strait.
On Monday, Iran and Oman held the inaugural meeting of their joint committee on the management of the Strait.
“During the meeting, both sides exchanged views on the future governance mechanism for the Strait of Hormuz under Article 5 of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, as well as on the sovereign rights of the littoral states,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Following the meeting, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi hit out at Oman.
“If Muscat chooses not to establish a joint framework for the future governance of the Strait of Hormuz, the Islamic Republic will proceed with implementing its own plan independently.”