Iran Says US Not Part of Recent Oman Talks on Hormuz Strait Management

Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday that the United States is not involved in the recent talks with Oman regarding the management of the Strait of Hormuz. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told the weekly press briefing that the negotiations are a strictly bilateral matter between Iran and Oman and are ongoing. He confirmed that the waterway currently remains closed. On Sunday, Iran had said progress was made in talks with Oman over managing the strait.
Baghaei also revealed that mediators had passed messages from the US to Iran, but noted that there has so far been no direct contact with Washington. Iran and the US halted hostilities on Monday, offering shipping and the oil industry in the Gulf a reprieve from missile strikes. Donald Trump’s envoy to the United Nations said the president is giving diplomacy a chance. The truce follows 13 consecutive nights of US strikes on Iran, after which both countries have held off from further fighting.
Baghaei stressed that Iran will not allow the US to dictate the timing or duration of war and peace, and that the country will continue to defend itself according to its national interests. He described Ukraine’s targeting of an Iranian vessel as a dangerous act that will certainly be answered, warning its repercussions could extend beyond the region. He said some Gulf states have been complicit in the US war against Iran, and expressed hope that regional countries would not continue such cooperation with Washington going forward. He reiterated that Iran has never requested a resumption of talks with the US.
In an interview with Austria’s ORF television, Baghaei said messages continue to be exchanged between Iran and the US, but that Washington’s military actions have damaged diplomacy. He said current conditions are not conducive to negotiations, and that Iran’s top priority right now is defending its sovereignty rather than initiating talks.