The US is nearing a Hormuz agreement and plans to announce it on Wednesday

Barak Ravid

According to two regional sources and a U.S. official, the United States, Iran and Oman are on the verge of reaching a temporary agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and Washington intends to announce the deal on Wednesday.

Importance of the issue: The agreement, which has been under negotiation for several weeks, is designed to restart the ceasefire talks between the United States and Iran and to resume negotiations over the nuclear agreement.

On Saturday, President Trump decided not to carry out his threat to launch a broad bombing campaign, in order to give diplomacy more time. However, if an agreement is not reached soon, Trump may authorize broad attacks.

The deal being shaped is part of Iran’s demands to exert greater control over traffic in the Strait of Hormuz—control that Iran did not have before the war.

Details of the agreement: According to two regional sources, the agreement under discussion would create a 60-day temporary mechanism between Oman and Iran to manage the Strait of Hormuz, with the option to extend it.

All incoming ships will enter the Persian Gulf via a northern route that passes through Iranian waters.

All outgoing ships will enter the Arabian Sea via a southern route that passes through Omani waters and is administered in coordination with Iran.

During this 60-day period, no fees or charges will be collected from the ships.

Within 30 days, the parties will cooperate to clear sea mines from the middle route of the strait.

After the clearing, the middle route will be used for round-trip shipping traffic based on a permanent agreement that will be negotiated later between Oman and Iran.

But: Three weeks ago, the White House, Oman, and regional mediators also believed they had reached an agreement with Iran, but Iran resumed attacks on ships—an action that led to two weeks of clashes and brought the parties close to an all-out war.

Behind the scenes: In addition to negotiations between Oman and Iran, officials from Qatar, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have also been involved in mediation efforts.

According to regional sources, the White House has also been actively present in the talks. In recent days, several calls were made between Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy, Abbas Araqchi, Iran’s foreign minister, and Badr Albusaidi, Oman’s foreign minister.

Two regional sources say Araqchi had initially agreed in principle to the deal, but still needed approval from Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, and the Supreme National Security Council.

A U.S. official and a regional source also said that the process of approval of the agreement by Iran’s leadership was completed on Tuesday.