Deal with Oman does not mean reopening Hormuz Strait: Iranian FM

Iran and Oman are close to reaching an agreement on a temporary shipping route, but the deal does not mean the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday.

Speaking on the sidelines of a press conference, Araghchi said: "We are discussing the issue of a temporary route. We are very close to a result. But determining the route between Iran and Oman does not necessarily mean the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, because it is subject to other conditions. The United States must make reparations for its violation of the Iran-U.S. memorandum of understanding. The current situation, I can say frankly, is the result of the violation of the memorandum of understanding by the United States."

Araghchi said the United States has repeatedly ignored Iranian warnings and sought to establish an alternative route through the Strait of Hormuz, with the aim of undermining Iran's management of the waterway.

He said the U.S. interference in Iran's management of the strait is unacceptable to Tehran.

Also on Saturday, Hossein Mohebbi, spokesman for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said that any reopening of the Strait of Hormuz would follow Iran's specific mechanisms and conditions and was unrelated to the talks between Iran and Oman.

Once the United States fully accepts Iran's conditions and stops interfering in regional negotiations, the strait will be reopened, he said.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), on Saturday outlined six conditions which he said were essential for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, including a permanent end to aggression against Iran and its regional allies, lifting the naval blockade against Iran, withdrawing U.S. forces from areas surrounding Iran, and lifting illegal and unjust sanctions.

Zolghadr said the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until the United States corrects its conduct.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he believed the war with Iran would end "immediately" after the U.S. congressional midterm elections in November.

Speaking to reporters at Andrews Air Force Base before departing for Dallas, Texas, to attend a Republican midterm election rally, Trump said he believed the war would stop as soon as the elections were over.

Asked whether he would resume negotiations with Iran, Trump said he had wanted to reach a deal, but given how the situation has developed, the United States is no longer considering the issue. He added that "a negotiation could possibly happen," but it is not something he is looking at.

On oil prices, Trump said he believes a decline will take "a little bit longer than the midterm." He also said that once the war ends, oil prices will be "tumbling downward."