Shafaqna Pakistan: Pakistani and Qatari mediators are drafting a document aimed at facilitating the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz following intensified diplomatic engagement with the United States, Iran and other regional stakeholders, Pakistani government sources told Anadolu on Tuesday.
According to the sources, indirect negotiations between Washington and Tehran, being conducted through Pakistani and Qatari mediators, have entered their final phase as efforts continue to finalize the document.
“A significant breakthrough regarding the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding is expected later this week, as Pakistan and Qatar have stepped up diplomatic outreach with Washington, Tehran and several other regional partners,” a source familiar with the matter said.
Oman, which has been in talks with Iran about future management of the Strait of Hormuz, is also “actively” involved in the latest diplomatic efforts to end hostilities and reopen the strait, said sources.
The single-page document, according to sources, contains matters only related to the Strait of Hormuz, which would subsequently lead to the resumption of long-stalled direct talks between the US and Iran.
Iran will reopen the strait, and in return, the US will lift its blockade of the Iranian ports, according to the document, said the sources.
There is no mention of Tehran’s nuclear program in the document, they said.
Following implementation of the document, mediators will finalize the date and venue for the resumption of direct talks in consultation with Washington and Tehran, the sources added.
Contentious issues
The sources said that the two warring sides are still at loggerheads on several issues, mainly tolls.
“The US side is insisting that the Strait of Hormuz should be completely toll-free for commercial shipping as it was before the start of the war. While Tehran wants a ‘service fee’ to cover environmental and security costs,” they said.
The mediators, it added, are trying to find a solution which might offer a “middle way” to resolve the issue.
Also, a source said Tehran is opposing the idea of different shipping corridors in the strait.
The New York Times reported earlier that Iran and Oman are close to reaching an agreement to restore commercial maritime traffic through the strait.
Under the potential deal, the report said, vessels entering the Gulf would travel through a shipping channel controlled by Iran and close to its coast, while outbound traffic would use a channel near Oman.
Iranian officials told The Times that no tolls would be charged but said the agreement includes a “service fee” to cover environmental effects, security for cargo ships and tankers, and staffing costs. They added that the revenue would be shared equally between Iran and Oman.
Rubio says US-Iran strait talks progress, deal could come ‘very shortly’
Earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Washington and Tehran had yet to finalise talks on passage through crucial international waterways, but he hopes an agreement will come “very shortly.”
Following reports and senior US officials’ remarks that both sides are close to reaching a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Rubio told reporters at the State Department that “there’s been progress made in those talks, but not finality yet.”
“We’re hoping that will happen very shortly,” he said.
Claiming that some commercial vessels have been able to transit despite efforts to block their passage, Rubio said that nonetheless, “there’s a conversation and a negotiation that we are involved in between Oman and Iran on how more ships can be able to go through there safely in the short term.”
“There’s oil moving right now through the straits. So, the straits are open,” he said, appearing to refer to the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb waterway between Yemen and the Horn of Africa, after Yemen’s Houthi group threatened vessels linked to Saudi Arabian ports.
Bab el-Mandeb, between Yemen and the Horn of Africa, connects the Gulf of Aden with the Red Sea and serves as a major route for vessels travelling between Asia, the Middle East and Europe through the Suez Canal.
Rubio said a potential agreement on the straits was receiving more attention, but the US sought to secure an “ultimate deal” with Iran on denuclearisation.
US Treasury secretary says Hormuz deal with Iran may happen ‘today or tomorrow’
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday that the Hormuz deal with Iran to open the waterway may happen ‘today or tomorrow’, noting that this will stabilise energy prices, according to AFP.
“We are in talks with the Iranians, and I think there is a chance we may have a deal today or tomorrow to open the strait and move towards a more normalised position in this conflict,” Bessent remarked in an interview with CNBC.
While answering a question as to whether a deal would allow Iran to charge a toll on shipping using the strait, he said: “I think it would be freedom of movement.”
“Even though things are still a little dicey there over the past few days, we’ve (seen) quite a few ships coming out even now,” Bessent said.
“So you know, I’d expect the energy prices to settle back down, which, as I said, will be good for the entire world,” he further added.
Source: Express Tribune
