Iran and Oman’s discussions over an Iran Oman Hormuz shipping route have thrown up a direct contradiction with Washington, after Muscat said the two countries are planning a joint mission to clear mines from the strait that the US says have already been removed.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important chokepoints for oil exports. Hundreds of millions of barrels of crude pass through it each year, making it a pressure point of enormous economic consequence whenever tensions rise in the region.
What Iran and Oman agreed in Tehran
Oman’s Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Albusaidi travelled to Tehran on Tuesday for talks with Iran’s top diplomat Seyed Abbas Araghchi. Albusaidi described the discussions as constructive and said he was hopeful that a corridor through Hormuz and ‘practical arrangements to restore safe navigation’ would be announced soon.
‘Future management of the Strait and a permanent solution will follow in due course,’ Albusaidi wrote in a social media post. ‘Discussions with regional partners will be conducted in support of peace and cooperation, stability and freedom of navigation.’
Oman’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed in its own post that the proposed framework includes a joint project to clear the strait of mines. Muscat and Tehran would continue talks with the aim of reaching agreement on a permanent corridor and administration system for the strait.
The mine-clearing contradiction
Oman’s reference to a mine-clearing mission sat awkwardly alongside statements from Washington. Earlier on Tuesday, President Donald Trump said the US Navy had informed him that all mines had been removed from international waters in Hormuz.
According to The Rio Times, Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command, said on 27 August 2026 that internationally recognised transit routes are free of Iranian sea mines. The same reporting states that underwater drones identified over 100 suspected mines in recent months, with private contractors carrying out the disposal work. Oman’s proposal for a further joint clearance mission suggests Muscat does not regard the matter as settled.
The backdrop to all of this is a strait that has been in open dispute for months. According to background on the 2026 Strait of Hormuz campaign, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officially confirmed on 2 March 2026 that the strait was closed to what it termed ‘unfriendly nations’, allowing only Iran-approved vessels to pass. That declaration set in motion the shipping crisis that diplomats are now scrambling to resolve.
The collapsed memorandum and US pressure
Tuesday’s talks are taking place under a provision in the memorandum of understanding signed by Washington and Tehran on 17 June. The interim deal called for Iran and Oman to hold discussions to ‘define the future administration and maritime services’ in Hormuz. But the memorandum quickly ran into trouble as the two sides clashed over which shipping lanes ships should use.
The US military has been protecting vessels using a southern route along Oman’s coast. US Central Command has said more than 660 million barrels of crude oil have exited Hormuz under its protection since May. Iran, however, demands that ships use a northern route through its territorial waters, and has said vessels that do not comply risk coming under attack.
Washington has been applying its own pressure. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday that the US would sanction any entity that does business with Iran. Trump himself threatened to bomb Oman earlier this month when asked on Fox News about Muscat’s talks with Tehran on the strait.
Violence continues at sea
The diplomacy is unfolding against a backdrop of continued attacks on shipping. An oil tanker was struck by an unknown projectile and disabled near Oman on Monday, according to an incident report from the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre. Two cargo ships came under attack in Hormuz the previous week, resulting in the deaths of two sailors.
Albusaidi said discussions with regional partners would continue. Whether a formal announcement on a joint Iran Oman Hormuz shipping route corridor follows, as he expressed hope it would, now depends on bridging not just the gap between Tehran and Muscat, but also the sharply competing versions of what is actually happening in the waters below.
