Iran has rejected Oman’s proposal for managing the Strait of Hormuz and said the waterway will remain closed unless its counterproposal is accepted. The report, published on July 29, said an Omani delegation visiting Tehran last Friday and Saturday proposed a regional joint consortium to manage the strait and maritime vessel traffic.

Oman’s proposal called for a 50-50 division of management responsibility, with Iran controlling one half of the strait and Oman supervising the other. Tehran rejected the plan, arguing that any management framework should be limited to Iran and Oman because they are the only coastal states with special rights over the issue.

Iran demanded full control over 50 percent of the strait and partial control over the remainder. Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi described this as Iran’s counterproposal and said the strait would remain closed if Oman did not accept it. A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Tehran had directly rejected Oman’s proposal, calling its prospects of success unlikely and alleging that the United States and Saudi Arabia were pressuring Oman to advance an “unrealistic” plan.