Iran, Oman hold talks on Hormuz Strait, discuss sovereign rights over strategic waterway

Iranian and Omani delegations have convened a legal-technical meeting to discuss the Strait of Hormuz, arrangements for the secure passage of ships, and the sovereign rights of both nations over the waterway.

The meeting was held in the Omani capital on Tuesday as part of ongoing consultations between Tehran and Muscat at several levels on bilateral relations and regional developments.

The Iranian delegation was headed by Abbas Baqerpour, director general for International Legal Affairs at Iran’s Foreign Ministry, and included representatives of relevant institutions.

During the negotiations, the two sides emphasized their sovereign rights and jurisdictions over the strait, stressing that it is part of the territorial waters of both countries.

The Iranian delegation later met with Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi for separate talks.

International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary General Arsenio Dominguez, who was also in Oman at the time, met the Iranian delegation as well, where relevant technical issues were discussed.

The Strait of Hormuz is 21 nautical miles wide at its narrowest point. Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which Iran has signed but not ratified, coastal nations may claim territorial waters extending 12 nautical miles from their shores.

This creates a mathematical reality that neither side disputes. The strait is narrow enough that the territorial waters of Iran and Oman overlap or abut, leaving no high-seas corridor where international transit passage is unambiguously guaranteed.

The US-Israeli war of terrorism has prompted Iran to finally put aside its longstanding diplomatic hesitation and historical reluctance over its Hormuz rights, fully enforcing its sovereign authority under the 12-mile territorial waters provision of international law to administer, regulate, and control traffic through the strait.

The political deputy of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Navy (IRGC), Rear Admiral Mohammad Akbarzadeh, said on Tuesday that Iran has fundamentally redefined the operational boundaries of the strategic waterway.

“In the past, the Strait of Hormuz was defined as a limited area around islands such as Hormuz and Hengam, but today this has changed,” Akbarzadeh said.

What Iran considers the scope of the strait has been expanded, stretching from the coasts of Jask and Sirik to beyond the Greater Tunb Island, and is redefined as a strategic zone, he explained.

“It has expanded from a width of 20 to 30 miles in the past to over 200 to 300 miles, that is, 500 kilometers, from Jask and Sirik to beyond Qeshm Island and Greater Tunb. This is a complete crescent.”

Strait of Hormuz now a 500-kilometer operational ‘crescent’: IRGC Navy

The scope of the Strait of Hormuz has been expanded, now stretching from the coasts of Jask and Sirik to beyond the Greater Tunb Island, an IRGC official said.

Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a vital conduit for roughly one-fifth of the world's oil and gas shipments, to hostile shipping since early March, days after the US and Israel launched their illegal war of aggression against the country.

Iran began enforcing much stricter controls last month after the US said it was imposing a blockade on Iranian vessels and ports; a move Tehran has condemned as illegal and an act of maritime piracy.

The shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz has caused severe disruptions to global energy flows and triggered increased price volatility.

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