ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iran said on Wednesday that it has reached an agreement with Oman regarding the coordinates of a proposed shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz, warning “third parties” against disrupting the plan. 

“The geographical coordinates of the route considered by the parties [Iran and Oman] have been agreed on, and if some third parties do not obstruct work in this regard, the joint statement of the two countries, including the main considerations and agreed points, is also in the final review and drafting stage,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said.

The spokesperson was cited by the state-owned IRNA news agency as saying that the agreement alone “cannot mean that the strait will become safe for passing ships,” referencing prolonged US “naval blockade and other aggressive and threatening actions.”

The agreement was reached following several rounds of talks between the two sides spanning two months, which Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said were “on the way to being finalized” in his Sunday remarks.

Iranian authorities have repeatedly stressed Tehran's right to maintain control over the vital waterway in cooperation with coastal Oman, a proposition that Washington has repeatedly rejected, insisting on a greater role in overseeing the waterway and the free passage of ships.

On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump warned that Tehran would get hit “really hard” if a deal is not reached to reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz “soon”.

The two warring sides have paused hostilities on multiple occasions to pursue negotiations, only to return to violence shortly after.

Tehran and Washington reached a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on June 17, but the deal fell apart only 21 days later after the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said Iranian forces had attacked a Cyprus-flagged ship in the Strait of Hormuz.