Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian announced that an agreement between Iran and Oman on maritime transport in the Strait of Hormuz will be signed in Muscat on Monday.
In an interview with India Today television published on Saturday, Pezeshkian said the foreign ministers of Arab countries would meet in Oman’s capital. Pezeshkian said the text of the agreement would be submitted to the International Maritime Organization and that countries targeted by attacks would also take part in the meeting.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei announced on Friday that eight countries bordering the Gulf would attend the meeting hosted by Oman.
Safe route for commercial vessels in Hormuz
According to Baghaei, the talks will address regional issues as well as the results of Iran and Oman’s efforts to establish safe routes for commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
Arguing that Iran was working to ensure security in the strait, Baghaei said the safety of vessels could not be guaranteed as long as the maritime blockade and U.S. interventions continued.
Pezeshkian said the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened if the United States stopped the blockade and attacks. The Iranian president said that parties unable to achieve their goals through war had resorted to economic pressure and that Iran would not back down.
New corridor plan for Hormuz
Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, announced last Monday that an agreement had been reached with Oman on a new corridor in which Iran would control entry into and exit from the Strait of Hormuz, and that the agreement would be signed within days.
The meeting will take place as reciprocal military attacks between the United States and Iran continue and disputes over maritime transport in the Strait of Hormuz obstruct the negotiation process.
According to Iran’s statement, more than 3,000 people were killed in the U.S. and Israeli attacks that began on February 28. Americans and Israelis were also killed in Iran’s retaliatory attacks.
