Overview
- Iran and Oman say talks are in their final stage and that preliminary coordinates for a temporary, narrow shipping corridor through the Strait of Hormuz have been agreed in principle this week.
- Iran’s state news agency published a draft on Thursday that would bar U.S. and Israeli-linked ships from the corridor and allow penalties and service charges for other vessels.
- Washington has publicly rejected any arrangement that imposes fees or requires permission to transit and says the strait must remain unfettered as an international waterway.
- Explosions and reported attacks near Qeshm Island and off Oman have kept commercial transits at single-digit levels, with ship trackers showing traffic remains near a standstill.
- Markets swung with the diplomacy: oil fell on U.S. optimism about a deal and then rose after Iran’s draft and security incidents, while insurers, ports and sanctions rules mean any corridor still needs approvals and could fail to start.