Add The New York Post on Google Iran and Oman will take part in a revenue-sharing agreement as part of the interim deal to reopen and control the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran’s security forces said Wednesday.
As the two nations agreed on a plan to temporarily open the Strait on Tuesday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the deal would bring in cash for the regime and its neighbor across the waterway.
“Agreements have been reached regarding each country’s share of the strait’s waters as well as Iran and Oman’s share of its revenues,” the state-run Sepah News agency quoted IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebbi.
“The US is obstructing this process, causing progress to be delayed,” he claimed.
The Trump administration has repeatedly warned Iran and Oman not to charge any fees for passage through the Strait of Hormuz, which was free and open before the war.
Iran and Oman, a US ally, did not mention fees during Tuesday’s announcement, but both nations have publicly backed collecting money from ships transiting the Strait to pay for management and security.
Under the interim deal, inbound traffic from the Gulf of Oman into the Persian Gulf would pass through Iranian territory.
Outbound traffic, meanwhile, would pass partly through Iranian waters and partly through Oman’s waters.
Along with managing the Strait, Iran and Oman said they would also work together to remove the underwater mines in the waterway, appearing to undercut President Trump’s claim Tuesday that the explosives were gone.
Iran has also warned that its deal with Oman would not immediately allow traffic to return to normal in the Strait of Hormuz, insisting that the waterway would only truly be open once the US submits to its peace conditions.
Trump has repeatedly insisted that the Strait of Hormuz is open, telling conservative radio host Glenn Beck on Wednesday that the waterway was “functioning” despite ongoing attacks on tankers from Iran.
“The strait, it’s functioning, it’s a functioning strait,” Trump said. “Yes, every once in a while there will be a drone or a rocket or something shot, but it is a very functioning strait. A lot of oil is pouring out.”
