Hormuz deal 'close' but will Trump accept it?

Trump's comments followed an earlier warning that Iran faced further military attacks if it did not agree to a deal, claiming that the US was "locked and loaded and ready to go against the Islamic Republic of Iran", but that he had halted further military action after Tehran and other Middle Eastern countries asked him to hold off. 

"Based on this request, I have agreed, for the future benefit of the WORLD and, likewise, the survival of a successful and prosperous Iran, to cancel the attack, subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL."

Iran-Oman track

While the White House has given few details about the proposed deal, it now appears that the main diplomatic initiative to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is focused on bilateral talks between Oman and Iran, which each control the territorial waters on either side of the strait.

Since the US and Israel attacked Iran in February, Tehran has effectively closed the strait, through which about a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas usually passes. While Iran insists that it is not negotiating with the US and has no plans to do so, it now appears that intensive discussions have been taking place for the past three weeks between Tehran and Muscat with the aim of reaching a mutually acceptable deal to open the strait.

New routes

While details of the proposed deal have yet to be made public, officials involved in the talks have indicated that the agreement would result in the establishment of new shipping routes for vessels passing through the strait. An Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement that the "geographical coordinates of the route" had been agreed with Oman.

"The factors making the Strait of Hormuz insecure still exist on the part of the United States, particularly the naval blockade and other aggressive and threatening actions against Iran and its interests," he said, according to Iran's official Irna news agency.

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi later told Irna an understanding with Oman over a shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz was "on the verge of being finalised", adding that the proposed new routes would initially operate for two to four months, or possibly longer. Furthermore, ships would mostly pass through Iranian waters—marking a departure from a decades-old system under which commercial traffic travelled primarily through Omani waters.

Despite these positive comments, there remains a great deal of uncertainty over whether the deal as currently envisaged would be deemed acceptable by Washington. Trump continues to insist that he would "rather make a deal because he does not want to kill people", but it is unlikely his administration would agree to anything that ultimately hands Tehran control over shipping in the strait or allows it to impose tolls or so-called "service charges".