Trump officials pressure Oman to accept Iran's terms on the Strait of Hormuz, says diplomat
By: Brian Bennett (MS NOW)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Aug. 4, 2026, 7:46 PM EDT By Ian Sherwood , Inzamam Rashid and David Rohde
As President Donald Trump's war with Iran stretches on, negotiations over control of the Strait of Hormuz may be poised to give Iran a major concession.
A senior Middle East diplomat with direct knowledge of the talks between Iran and Oman told MS NOW on Tuesday that the U.S. and Europe are placing a great deal of pressure on Oman to accept a temporary agreement with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The senior Middle East diplomat told MS NOW on Monday that the current version of the temporary agreement, if finalized, would give Iran temporary control of both the inward and outward routes ships would use to sail through the strait.
"The discussions are focused on an inward route through the Strait of Hormuz that is entirely through Iranian territorial waters," the senior Middle East diplomat told MS NOW, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe sensitive discussions.
"The outward route is largely through Omani territorial water, but there's a section of it through Iranian water, and because of that section, temporary control will be with Iran," the diplomat said.
A document laying out terms for reopening the strait is "close to being finalized," a Pakistan official told MS NOW.
The recent talks between Iran and Oman are being mediated by Pakistan, which hosted a round of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran in April that failed to bring an end to the conflict.
The U.S. is involved in the current talks "indirectly," the Pakistan official said, and there are "no immediate plans" for more direct talks between U.S. and Iran.
But mediators from Qatar and Pakistan are working towards bringing U.S. and Iranian negotiators back in direct contact, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe the talks.
The Pakistan official also emphasized that Iran wants to finalize the issue around the Strait of Hormuz before negotiations continue on other matters.
Experts cautioned that it is difficult to evaluate the agreement until final details are made public. But they said the arrangement described by the diplomat would likely give Tehran greater control of the strategic waterway than it had before the war — something the Trump administration has vowed to prevent.
"It sounds like they would be thrilled," said George Perkovich, a nuclear nonproliferation expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "That's the leverage they need given their doubts that the U.S. will fulfill its end of any deal."
Oman and Iran flank either side of what, during peacetime, is a key transit route for one-fifth of the world's oil shipments.
Oman has long acted as a neutral mediator between the United States and Iran. But that role was strained in May when Trump threatened to "blow them up" and accused Oman and Iran of discussing charging fees for passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
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