Iran has rejected a proposal from Oman to evenly share control of the lanes in the Strait of Hormuz, as Tehran demands it control most of the critical oil and LNG chokepoint, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday, as strikes in the region reignited and dashed hopes for a quick return to diplomacy.
Oman, which lies opposite Iran in the narrow Strait of Hormuz, had proposed to divide the lanes evenly and ask a voluntary fee from ships to fund navigation, environmental protection, and rescue operations, similar to the system in place in the Strait of Malacca in Asia. At Malacca, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore are asking vessels to pay voluntary contributions to fund safety of navigation.
But Iran appears unwilling to evenly share control of the Strait of Hormuz with Oman, with the Iranian official telling Reuters that the U.S. and Saudi Arabia are looking to pressure Oman to propose these “unrealistic plans” for control of the waterway.
Tehran wants all inbound traffic in the Strait into the Persian Gulf to be under Iranian control, as well as part of the outbound lanes, according to the Iranian official who spoke to Reuters.
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Despite Iran considering Oman a valuable neighbor, an evenly divided control is not in Iran’s interest, the official added.
The rejection of the Omani proposal comes as strikes and attacks in the Middle East resumed overnight, sending oil prices surging again early on Wednesday in Asian trade.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed on Wednesday they struck three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, forcing them to stop, after the vessels ignored warnings and used what Iran called an “unsafe and illegal route”.
The IRGC Navy said it keeps full control over Hormuz, adding that “The IRGC Navy once again warns that the illegal interventions and orders of the US, a child-killing army, will not go unanswered by vessels in the region.”
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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