CAIRO\/WASHINGTON\/RIYADH
\nIran said on Saturday that a deal with Oman on control of the Strait of Hormuz was close but would not be enough to free up \u200bthe waterway, and the United Arab Emirates said Iran had hit another ship there.
\nA U.S. official, who declined to be identified, said on Friday that Washington anticipated \u200can agreement soon between Iran and Oman, which sit on either side of the strait, so that normal oil traffic could resume.
\nAgreement between the two countries over control of the strategic waterway is seen as crucial to a wider agreement to end the conflict that began with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28.
\nIranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Iran and Oman were \u201cvery close\u201d to agreement on a new shipping route through \u200bthe Strait of Hormuz but that reopening the strait depended on other conditions, including U.S. compensation to Iran.
\nThe previous shipping traffic separation scheme through the strait was no \u200blonger acceptable to Tehran, he said, adding that Iran was discussing a temporary route with Oman while technical and legal issues surrounding a permanent route were resolved.
\nIran has responded to the U.S. attacks by targeting U.S. bases in Gulf states and Jordan, and shipping in the narrow strait, which carried a fifth of the world\u2019s \u200boil and gas shipments before the war.
\nThe UAE said on Saturday that Iran had attacked a carrier affiliated with its state oil company with a missile as it transited the Strait of \u200bHormuz, with no injuries reported, in the latest escalation in attacks on shipping there.
\nThere was no immediate comment from Iranian authorities. Iranian media quoted the UAE report without including the part in which the country blamed Iran for the attack.<\/p>\n
US to lift Iran blockade once deal is announced, official says
\nIn recent weeks, the Trump administration has repeatedly signaled that a deal to open the strait could be close, only to have Iran deny \u200bthat talks are under way. It was unclear whether the latest flurry of negotiations would yield a more lasting arrangement.
\n\u201cThere is progress between Oman and Iran on the strait, and we \u200bexpect a deal soon,\u201d a U.S. official told Reuters on Friday. \u201cOnce the deal is announced to restore commercial shipping without impediments, the United States will lift the blockade of Iranian ports.\u201d
\n\u201cAs always, U.S. actions will \u200ccontinue to be performance-based and tied to Iran\u2019s implementation of its commitments,\u201d the official said.
\nIran\u2019s Revolutionary Guards also said on Saturday that re-opening the Strait of Hormuz depended on Washington accepting Iran\u2019s conditions and was not related to the Iran-Oman negotiations.
\nGuards spokesperson Hossein Mohebbi did not specify the conditions but said Washington must stop interfering in the regional negotiation process.
\n\u201cWhenever the United States accepts Iran\u2019s conditions, the Strait of Hormuz will certainly be reopened,\u201d he said, according to Iran\u2019s Tasnim news agency.<\/p>\n
Sources said this week a deal would give Iran some control
\nA proposed deal between Iran and Oman to \u200bhelp end five months of war between Iran \u200band the U.S. would give Tehran control over ships entering the Gulf through the strait, a senior Iranian source and two regional officials told Reuters on Wednesday, one of the biggest concessions yet to Iran.
\nU.S. officials have repeatedly insisted they would never agree to Iran controlling access to the world\u2019s most important trade route for \u200benergy supplies. It was not clear whether they had sought to change the parameters of the deal.
\nIran has used the hostilities to justify \u200bcharging a toll on oil tankers. That, and the firing on ships that attempt to cross the strait without its permission, has badly disrupted global shipments, causing energy prices to surge and fueling inflation.
\nAbu Dhabi National Oil Company, one of the world\u2019s largest energy producers, said on Friday that 15 of its vessels had been struck in what it called unprovoked attacks while transiting the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the conflict. The attacks \u200bhave killed one crew member and wounded 20 others, it said.
\nIranian media often report attacks on ships \u200bsaying they violated Iran\u2019s directives, without specifying that Iran was behind the attacks.
\nIranian strikes on Strait of Hormuz shipping have been coupled with increased attacks by its Yemen-based allies, the Houthis, who have targeted ships at another oil chokepoint on \u200bthe other side of the Arabian Peninsula between the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
CAIRO\/WASHINGTON\/RIYADH Iran said on Saturday that a deal with Oman on control of the Strait of Hormuz was close but would not be enough to free up \u200bthe waterway, and the United Arab Emirates said Iran had hit another ship there. A U.S. official, who declined to be identified, said on Friday that Washington anticipated […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":560966,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-560945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n