Oman has informed European governments that the pre-war arrangement of free transit through the Strait of Hormuz is unlikely to return and that vessels may be required to pay fees for services such as de-pollution and navigational assistance, according to officials familiar with the private discussions. The communication signals a fundamental shift in the management of the narrow waterway through which roughly one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas passes. Omani officials insisted they would continue to respect international maritime law but left open whether the charges would be mandatory, and said they were studying regulatory models from other chokepoints, including the Malacca Strait, where no compulsory shipping fees currently exist.

Washington and Gulf capitals have firmly rejected any toll regime, warning it would violate international maritime law. In a joint statement with the Gulf Cooperation Council on Thursday, the United States explicitly “rejected any toll, fee or attempt to exert control over the strait,” a declaration US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described as “good news.” France, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have all conveyed similar positions. Yet Oman’s private message to European officials, delivered ahead of a Monday meeting in Paris between French President Emmanuel Macron and Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, suggests Muscat is preparing for a new reality. European diplomats say the sultanate is under heavy pressure from Tehran, which shares the strait’s coastline and has insisted on jointly administering the waterway with Oman.

Tehran, which effectively closed the strait with missile and drone attacks after US and Israeli airstrikes began in late February, now frames potential fees as compensation for war damage and environmental cleanup. Iranian officials have told the Trump administration they do not seek tolls, according to a senior US official, but a joint Omani-Iranian communiqué this week announced discussions on “administering the maritime route and associated costs.” Pakistan’s foreign minister, acting as an intermediary, said Iran had pledged not to impose transit duties for 60 days. The diverging public statements, diplomats note, reflect a broader negotiation over the strait’s status, with Iran proposing a “new sovereign regime” that categorises user states as friendly, neutral or hostile and offers preferential access to allies including Russia, China and India.

The introduction of any charges could cost commodity traders and shipping companies tens of billions of dollars annually and fundamentally alter the legal architecture of one of the world’s most critical maritime corridors. Oman, long a neutral mediator between Iran and the West, now finds itself at the centre of a geopolitical tug-of-war. The Macron-Sultan meeting is expected to focus on preserving unconditional freedom of navigation, but European officials acknowledge that the pre-war status quo may be irretrievable. The dossier remains fluid, with parallel US-Iran peace talks and Oman’s own internal review of fee structures set to determine the next phase.