Tehran, Iran – Iran has rejected an Omani proposal for joint oversight of the Strait of Hormuz and instead submitted a counterproposal that would give Tehran greater control over the strategic waterway, as negotiations between the two countries continue.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on state television on Tuesday that Oman’s proposal did not adequately address Tehran’s security concerns over the strait.

He informed that Muscat had proposed a joint regional mechanism under which Oman and Iran would each oversee 50% of the shipping route. Under the proposal, Iran would manage transit lanes in its territorial waters, while Oman would oversee those along its coastline.

“Oman proposed to us the creation of a route in the Strait of Hormuz, with 50% of it located in our territorial waters and 50% in Omani territorial waters. Ships would enter through Iranian waters and exit through Omani territorial waters,” Gharibabadi said.

The proposal included a system of voluntary service fees paid by vessels transiting the strait, with the proceeds shared between the two countries.

The Omani plan appears to be modelled on the management framework for the Strait of Malacca, where Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore invite ships to make voluntary contributions to support navigation, environmental protection and search-and-rescue services.

Gharibabadi said Iran rejected the proposal because of national security concerns and instead presented its own plan.

Under Tehran’s counterproposal, one shipping lane would lie entirely within Iranian territorial waters, while part of the opposite lane would also pass through Iranian waters.

“Our proposal is for one route to lie entirely within the territorial waters of the Islamic Republic of Iran, with part of the other route also passing through Iranian territorial waters, so that Iran can effectively exercise oversight over both inbound and outbound traffic,” he said.

He warned that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed if Oman rejected the proposal and said shipping arrangements could not return to the pre-conflict system under which vessels transited the waterway without paying any form of fee.