Seeking greater control, Iran rejects Omani plan to evenly divide Hormuz between them

Iran has rejected a plan put forward by Oman to evenly split control over the Strait of Hormuz, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal, which says officials from the countries mediating US-Iran talks were infuriated by the Islamic’s Republic’s rejection of the Omani proposal.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi tells the newspaper that Tehran won’t agree to the next stage of negotiations with Washington unless Oman backs Iran’s proposal granting it most of the strait, while claiming the Omani plan “doesn’t address Iran’s security concerns.”

“The inbound shipping lane must be entirely under Iran’s control, while part of the outbound lane may remain under Oman’s control,” Gharibabadi says. “If they accept this proposal, we will move on to the next stage.”

The report quotes mediators saying that Iran’s rejection of the Omani plan has undercut efforts to revive the US-Iran memorandum of understanding reached last month.