Iran and Oman negotiate joint Strait of Hormuz shipping corridor

Iran and Oman met on Tuesday to negotiate a temporary joint shipping corridor through the Strait of Hormuz, along with a mission to clear mines from the critical oil export route.

Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Albusaidi called his meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi in Tehran productive, expressing optimism that a temporary corridor and "practical arrangements to restore safe navigation" would be unveiled in short order. Oman's Foreign Ministry posted on social media that the framework under discussion envisions a joint mine-clearing effort, with both nations committed to further talks aimed at establishing a lasting corridor and governance structure for the strait.

The diplomats did not reach a deal, according to Axios . In a joint statement, Iran and Oman said they are also discussing a mechanism for information exchange, traffic management, and maritime and security services.

The talks came on the same day President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. Navy had completed its own mine-removal operation. "I have just been informed by the United States Navy that all mines have been removed and/or detonated from within the International Waters of the Strait of Hormuz," Trump wrote on Truth Social. He warned that Iran has been put on notice that any vessel caught laying new mines would be "immediately and systematically destroyed," and he noted that the U.S. Space Force has the waterway under surveillance.

Oman's reference to a mine-clearing mission appeared to contradict Trump's statement, according to CNBC . Axios reported that two U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the operation corroborated Trump's claim, adding that the Navy spent several months deploying underwater drones to scan the Traffic Separation Scheme — the median lane of the strait — and identified more than 100 objects believed to be mines, which private contractors were then hired to remove or destroy.

The Iran-Oman discussions come against a backdrop of U.S. military escorts enabling tankers to move more than 660 million barrels of crude through the strait since early May , though throughput remains well below the roughly 20 million barrels per day the waterway handled before the conflict. Traffic has been routed through a southern lane hugging the Omani coastline, with U.S. officials telling Axios that the channel handled over 500 ship transits in the preceding month.

The Iran-Oman talks followed by one day Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's warning that the U.S. would impose sanctions on any nation conducting business with Iran, according to CNBC. Trump earlier this month threatened to bomb Oman if it "gets in the way."