[Oman Overstating Diplomatic Progress? Iran Insists on Straits Tolls]
One reason President Trump suddenly ordered a halt to U.S. military airstrikes against Iran was reportedly due to some diplomatic progress made by Oman. According to Axios news, an Omani delegation recently visited Tehran and held diplomatic talks with Iran over the issue of the Strait of Hormuz. Oman conveyed to Washington that progress had been achieved in these negotiations, and a relevant agreement would soon be signed. However, initially, the public remained unclear about how exactly Oman and Iran were negotiating or what the specific terms of the agreement entailed. But on July 27, Al Jazeera revealed the details.
It emerged during the negotiations that Oman proposed establishing a regional consortium, under which the Strait of Hormuz would not charge transit fees, and shipping through the strait would instead be monitored by this consortium. Nevertheless, Iran firmly opposed any alternative shipping arrangements, insisting that any future mechanism governing the Strait of Hormuz must be led and managed by Iran itself—and that Iran must be allowed to collect "service fees" from passing vessels.
If this is truly the case, then what exactly constitutes Oman’s so-called "diplomatic progress"? Is it merely that Iran will no longer charge "strait transit fees," but instead impose "strait service fees"? If so, isn't this clearly just "changing the soup without changing the medicine"?
Given current circumstances, Iran appears determined to impose tolls—unless U.S. forces or the international community take decisive action to forcibly reopen the Strait of Hormuz. To date, however, there has been no concrete strong measures from the international community, nor has the U.S. military succeeded in reopening the strait. The situation remains deadlocked.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1871863964048384/
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