Iran – Oman pact in final phase

Kochi: Iran has reached an agreement with Oman on a route for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.It was “in the final stages”, Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said, BBC  reported.The deal with Oman would not guarantee safe navigation through the strait, arguing security remained impacted by the US blockade of Iran’s ports, Baqaei warned.Baqaei said the “geographical coordinates of the route” had been agreed with Oman.Tehran has largely blocked the Strait of Hormuz since the US and Israel attacked Iran in February, The US President Donald Trump on Tuesday warned that Iran would be “hit very hard” if the strait did not open “very soon”.Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi later told Iran’s news agency IRNA the new route would be temporary and could stay open from two to four months.The US has maintained a naval blockade of Iranian ports in the region, while another blockade has been imposed in Saudi Arabia’s ports in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis since 20 July.The US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on 28 February, with Iran responding by attacking Israel and US-allied states in the Gulf and closing the Strait of Hormuz through which one fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passes.