Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, during a meeting with a senior Chinese legislator in Tehran on Friday, stated that the Islamic Republic will not permit any US involvement in the management of the Strait of Hormuz. The declaration came as Ghalibaf confirmed that Iran and Oman had reached an understanding under Article 5 of the recent ceasefire memorandum with Washington to jointly regulate shipping traffic through the strategic chokepoint. The meeting took place on the sidelines of funeral ceremonies for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, described in official Iranian media as the “martyred leader of the revolution,” following a 40-day conflict that ended with a temporary truce.

According to Iranian officials, the agreement with Oman envisions a voluntary administrative fee on commercial vessels, modelled on the system in place in the Strait of Malacca, to fund waterway maintenance, environmental protection, and maritime rescue. Oman’s foreign minister, Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, clarified that Muscat does not support a mandatory tariff but is open to a voluntary contribution scheme. Viewed from Washington, the proposal has met with firm opposition; US officials consider the strait an international waterway where no tolls or fees can be imposed. Regional diplomatic sources indicate that while Oman has consulted on management mechanisms, no formal proposal has yet been submitted to the United States, contradicting earlier reports that a document had been delivered.

Exclusive information obtained by Iran International details that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has deployed special units along the Persian Gulf coast equipped with ground observation posts, maritime assets, and aerial surveillance systems. These forces have been tasked with identifying any vessel attempting to use the southern transit corridor near Omani waters, which Tehran has declared off-limits. The IRGC is also actively gathering intelligence from Omani sources to obtain advance knowledge of ship schedules. The waterway is now effectively divided into three lanes: a northern route under Iranian control, a southern route near Oman, and a middle lane that remains closed due to naval mines. Iran has committed under the ceasefire to clear the mines within 30 days, but for now, ships face a choice between risking attack by using non-Iranian lanes or risking Western sanctions by complying with Iranian routing instructions.

The diplomatic push over the strait’s governance follows a 40-day war that saw exchanges of fire between Iranian and US forces, including an IRGC attack on a Singapore-flagged cargo vessel in the southern lane and subsequent US strikes on Iranian coastal missile and drone sites. Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi, meeting separately with Ghalibaf, welcomed the agreement and expressed hope that the strait’s reopening would allow Iraq to resume oil exports and recover war losses. China, through Vice Chairman He Wei, pledged to deepen strategic ties with Iran, with both sides framing closer coordination as a counterweight to US unilateralism. Negotiations in Doha, facilitated by Oman, are continuing, and Iran has indicated it will consult other Persian Gulf coastal states, including Iraq, on the strait’s future management. The next concrete step is the expected submission of a formal proposal on the fee mechanism, though the timeline remains uncertain amid conflicting signals from Muscat and Washington.