Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said the Strait of Hormuz was not closed because of differences with Oman, according to remarks to journalists in Tehran on August 3, 2026. He asserted that US and Israeli military aggression had instead put the waterway in crisis.

Baghaei said an agreement on a designated route is needed to ensure safe navigation through the strait. He described defining such a route and guaranteeing secure vessel movement as necessary conditions for reopening the waterway.

However, the spokesperson said those measures alone would not be sufficient to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. He again rejected the claim that disagreements between Iran and Oman were responsible for its closure, while attributing the current problems affecting the waterway to military aggression by the United States and the Israeli government.