Baghaei — MoU Does Not Include Hormuz Specifics; Fees “Not Presented As Tolls”
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said today that the memorandum of understanding under negotiation does not include specifics about the management of the Strait of Hormuz. Baghaei added that any fees Iran charges “will not be presented as tolls”. The IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency said the United States “is still obstructing” parts of the potential deal, including Tehran’s demand for the release of frozen funds. Iran has acknowledged agreement with the United States on many points but says the signing of a deal is not imminent — and that the proposal under discussion does not include immediate concessions on the nuclear issue.
The Baghaei “not presented as tolls” phrasing is the operational reframing of the Iran-Oman fee discussion: Iran is reframing fees as “services” or “management charges” rather than tolls, while maintaining the underlying right to collect them. The framing is illegal under international maritime law in either form. The Tasnim “US still obstructing” line is the Iranian counter-pressure to Trump’s Sunday “don’t rush” framing: Iran is signalling that if the US pushes too hard on uranium or sequencing, Tehran will walk away. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held a series of diplomatic calls over the weekend with European and regional counterparts and the United Nations Secretary General António Guterres.