Oman has put forward a draft proposal to manage maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz via two distinct corridors, each under separate administration, according to a source familiar with the talks. The plan, which remains unfinalised, would keep both the northern lane—passing through Iranian territorial waters—and the southern lane—within Omani waters—open to shipping. Under the proposed arrangement, vessels using the southern corridor would enjoy freedom of navigation as it existed before the recent hostilities, while those transiting the northern corridor would require prior Iranian approval. No fees would be imposed on shipping under the draft agreement. The proposal emerged as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met his Omani counterpart Badr al-Busaidi in Muscat on Saturday to discuss mechanisms for safe passage, with both sides agreeing to continue technical and political consultations.

Viewed from Tehran, the strait’s governance is a matter of sovereign prerogative. An Iranian political source, cited by the Tasnim news agency, stressed that the Strait of Hormuz lies exclusively within the internal and territorial waters of Iran and Oman, and that any decision on its management must be taken by the two littoral states. The same source pointed to Clause 5 of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, signed in June, which stipulates that Iran will reopen the waterway based on “its own arrangements.” Iranian officials have previously signalled a new strategic doctrine: after any attack on the country, the strait would be “completely closed” first, and then retaliatory strikes would be launched at twice the scale of the aggression. Tehran has also made clear it will not permit any new routing framework outside its own terms.

Washington has adopted a sharply different posture. US officials, speaking to ABC News ahead of Saturday’s talks, said they expected the negotiations to result in the Strait of Hormuz being open “the same way it was before the war.” They warned that if Iran did not issue a statement declaring all routes open and renouncing further targeting of vessels, “it will not be a happy day for them.” The US and Iran have held two previous rounds of discussion since the MoU—one direct in Switzerland and one indirect in Qatar—without achieving a breakthrough. American officials have accused Iran of failing to implement the memorandum fully, while Iranian sources counter that repeated US violations have fuelled tensions.

Mediation efforts have drawn in multiple regional actors. Qatar, which hosted an earlier indirect round, dispatched a delegation to Tehran on Friday to help revive the talks, and its officials have been present in the Muscat discussions, according to Axios. Pakistan, another intermediary, has publicly urged Iran to preserve “hard-won peace gains.” The Omani proposal, first reported by CNN, is now the central item on the table as technical and political talks continue. The next steps are expected to include further detailed negotiations on the corridor framework, with the immediate focus on whether Iran will agree to a statement on reopening that satisfies Washington’s demands while preserving the arrangements Tehran insists are its sovereign right.