Iran has signalled its intention to formalise control over maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, with Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi stating that Tehran wants to work out an agreement with Oman to oversee ships transiting the waterway. The declaration, broadcast on state television, came hours before fresh talks were due to begin in Doha on ending the recent military confrontation with the United States. According to Iranian officials, the proposed mechanism would allow the two littoral states to manage navigation and, if Oman declines, Iran would proceed unilaterally. The move follows a ceasefire that halted weeks of reciprocal strikes, during which Iran attacked commercial vessels using a newly developed southern shipping corridor and the US responded with strikes on Iranian maritime targets.

Washington and its Gulf partners have rejected any alteration to the strait’s governance. President Donald Trump insisted on social media that there would be “NO TOLLS” after a 60-day negotiating period, and threatened renewed military action if Iran interfered with commercial traffic. Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, stated that the management of the strait was functioning before the conflict and questioned why a novel arrangement should be accepted as a result of hostilities. US and Omani military planners had previously expanded a southern corridor hugging Oman’s coastline precisely to move shipping beyond Iran’s immediate reach; former US Navy commanders told Fox News Digital that Iran’s subsequent attacks on vessels using that route were a deliberate attempt to preserve its strategic leverage.

The Iranian proposal has introduced a proposition that maritime legal experts in London and Dubai warn could redraw the rules for global choke points. Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which Iran has signed but not ratified, coastal states cannot impose charges on foreign vessels merely for transit passage. Oman, however, is a party to the convention, creating a legal asymmetry that Tehran may seek to exploit by framing a joint levy as a cooperative service fee rather than a unilateral toll. Analysts in the region note that if Iran succeeds in monetising passage, it could embolden other states astride critical waterways—from the Malacca Strait to the Bosphorus—to assert similar revenue claims, fundamentally challenging the principle of freedom of navigation.

Shipping traffic through Hormuz has tentatively resumed, with 24 commodity vessels transiting on Monday, including a Saudi-flagged supertanker, according to vessel-tracking data. Nearly half of inbound commercial traffic already uses the southern corridor, maritime intelligence firm Windward reports. The Doha negotiations are expected to address the strait’s future administration under the terms of a memorandum of understanding that provides for toll-free passage during a 60-day window. Iran has denied that its negotiators would meet directly with US officials, but discussions with Oman and Gulf littoral states are anticipated. The outcome will determine whether Tehran can convert military pressure into a lasting institutional role over the waterway, as shipping insurers and commercial operators assess the risk of permanently elevated costs.