Hormuz Deal Enters Final Drafting as Mine-Clearing Plan Emerges
Iran says an agreement with Oman to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is in its final stage, with a newly reported plan to clear the median lane of mines within 30 days—still tied to the US lifting its port blockade.
Iran said it is in the final stage of drafting an agreement with Oman to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and US officials signaled a deal could be announced within days, as newly reported terms put a concrete timeline on clearing the waterway. The emerging plan would have the parties clear naval mines from the strait’s median lane within 30 days, after which that lane would carry both inbound and outbound commercial traffic under a longer-term arrangement still to be negotiated between Oman and Iran.
The move takes the talks past the disputes over control and fees that defined them earlier in the week and toward a mechanical question: how, and how fast, to make the world’s most important oil chokepoint navigable again.
According to NBC News, President Trump said an agreement could come this week, and mediators were pushing for an announcement in the coming days. Bloomberg reported that Iran and Oman had reached agreement on a proposed shipping route—one of the clearest signs yet that the two sides have converged on a practical transit plan.
The Sticking Point Has Not Moved
The most consequential condition remains unchanged: the arrangement is expected to be contingent on the United States lifting its naval blockade of Iran’s ports. That keeps the deal tethered to a decision in Washington, not just to the drafting table in Muscat, and it is the same core dispute that has kept “close” from becoming “done” all week.
The 30-day mine-clearing window is significant on its own terms. Mines laid during the conflict do not respect a signing ceremony, and clearing a lane wide enough for laden tankers is slow, hazardous work. A timeline gives shippers and insurers something to price against—but only once the political preconditions are met.
Who Is at the Table
The negotiations have run well beyond a bilateral channel. NBC reported that Qatari, Pakistani and Saudi officials were involved in the mediation, and that the White House was active throughout, with repeated calls between US envoy Steve Witkoff, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi. That breadth reflects how many governments have a direct stake in reopening a route that carries a large share of the world’s seaborne oil and gas.
Al Jazeera reported that each party wants something different from the same agreement: Iran wants sanctions and blockade relief and a recognized role in the strait; the US wants the waterway open without conceding Iranian control; Oman wants the stabilizing credit and a workable transit regime on its doorstep.
What To Watch
The near-term test is simply whether an announcement materializes on the timeline US officials floated, or whether the port-blockade condition stalls it again—as earlier optimistic statements stalled over control and fees. If a deal is signed, the next marker is the mine-clearing itself: the 30-day clock is the first concrete, checkable milestone the process has produced, and oil markets will watch it more closely than the communiqué.
This is a developing story based on statements from Iranian and US officials and reporting by NBC News, Bloomberg, and Al Jazeera. Terms described here are as reported and may change before any agreement is finalized.
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