Iran says US not involved in talks with Oman over Hormuz strait

TEHRAN: Iran’s foreign ministry on Monday said the United States was not involved in recent talks with Oman over the administration of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

“These talks have no connection with the United States. They are a bilateral matter between Iran and Oman, and they are continuing,” ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said at a weekly press briefing, adding that the waterway “remains closed”.

Deputy foreign ministers from the two countries held talks on Friday and Saturday on “common principles and operational mechanisms” to ensure the safe passage of shipping through the strait.

Traffic through Hormuz, a vital global shipping route, has been under Iranian control since the outbreak of war with Israel and the United States on February 28.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have in recent days turned back multiple vessels, including six earlier on Monday, that attempted to transit the strait outside the route designated by the Islamic republic.

The waterway has remained a key flashpoint between Iran and the United States, with fighting resuming earlier this month following a ceasefire.

Iran insists on retaining control over the management of the strait, including the collection of service fees, while keeping Oman involved as a coastal state.

The collapse of Iran-US memorandum of understanding signed in June resulted in 13 days of exchanges of fire between the two sides, though fighting has been on hold since early Saturday.

On Monday, Baqaei criticised the United States, saying its conduct in recent years has “resembled that of a mafia gang that adheres to no rules or laws”.

“So long as such behaviour by the United States continues, we cannot be hopeful about the emergence of a reasonable process,” he added.