Iran and Oman have brought talks close to an agreement on a shipping corridor in the Strait of Hormuz, sources indicated on 18 September 2026.
Hassan Ghashghavi, spokesperson for the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, was quoted as saying the arrangement is nearly finalised but that such a step does not amount to an immediate reopening of the strait. The account in reports cited reports from Sputnik and RIA Novosti.
The report described the development as an advance in bilateral discussions between Tehran and Muscat; it gave no timetable for implementation and made clear that the presence of an agreement would not be the same as a restoration of full navigation status. Officials were reported to have framed the corridor as a separate mechanism distinct from any declaration that the waterway has been reopened.
What the report says
According to the published summary, the two states have moved towards finalising technical or procedural arrangements for a corridor. The item specifically cited Mr Ghashghavi’s remark that an agreed corridor should not be read as meaning the Strait of Hormuz itself had been reopened for general passage.
Unresolved elements
The reports account did not list the corridor’s operating parameters, such as the types of vessels covered, security arrangements, or whether international maritime actors would take part in oversight. It also did not state which formal steps remain before any corridor would be put into effect or how compliance would be monitored.
The report noted that in August the Iranian Foreign Ministry had previously issued a related statement; it did not expand on the content of that August comment. The most recent public remarks cited in the report nevertheless underline that officials distinguish between agreeing corridor arrangements and declaring the strait reopened.
The coverage, as presented, leaves key procedural and legal questions open. reports’ item relied on the Moscow-based agencies it cited for the quotations and the account of the negotiations, and it did not provide a list of the exact terms under discussion or a firm implementation schedule.
The Maritime Gazette will follow further announcements and any formal texts that may be released by the governments involved or by the parliamentary committee spokesman quoted in the report. For now, the available public reporting describes an agreement-in-waiting rather than a completed change to the strait’s status.