Talks Go On in Oman With a Plan to Split the Strait in Two
Even as the strikes continued, the US and Iran kept talking in Oman, where mediators have drafted a tentative plan to divide the Strait of Hormuz into two managed corridors: a southern lane in Omani waters, open to free navigation as before the war, and a northern lane in Iranian waters, where passage would need Tehran’s prior approval. President Trump declared the ceasefire “over” at the weekend but said Iran had asked to keep talking and that Washington had agreed. The plan is not finalised.
The two-corridor idea is an attempt to give both sides a version of victory: Iran gets formal recognition of its control over part of the strait, a long-standing demand, while the world keeps a guaranteed open lane for the tankers that carry its oil. Whether it can be agreed amid live fighting is the question, and the gap between Trump’s “ceasefire is over” and his willingness to keep negotiating captures the contradiction at the heart of the American approach — maximal pressure and open channels at once. Oman has been the quiet broker throughout, hosting rounds in Muscat and Tehran, and its plan is the most concrete de-escalation on the table. Watch whether the corridors survive contact with the strikes, whether Iran drops its insistence on closure in exchange for recognition, and whether the US accepts any Iranian role in policing the waterway.