Oman has presented Iran with a Gulf-backed proposal for a joint regional mechanism to manage the Strait of Hormuz. The plan, modeled after the Strait of Malacca, suggests a system of voluntary fees for ships using the strategic waterway. The proposal aims to restore stable shipping and trade after months of disruption caused by attacks on commercial vessels and the US-Israeli war on Iran.
Iran has expressed a desire to manage the strait alongside Oman, which controls the opposite shore, and charge service fees to ships. Tehran has proposed a temporary arrangement under which one direction of traffic and part of the opposite route would pass through Iranian waters. This proposed deal would give Iran significantly more control over the waterway than Oman.
A U.S. official has rejected the idea of tolls or fees, asserting that the strait is an international waterway that should be free of Iranian control. While mediators are using a lull in fighting to patch together a quick fix to reopen the strait and pave the way for substantive talks, Iran's position is viewed by some as a setback to efforts to revive the U.S.-Iran peace deal.