A proposed Iran-Oman arrangement governing ships entering the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz is not easily workable for the shipping industry, four industry sources told Reuters, citing US sanctions and restrictive insurance clauses on any payments [1]. Middle East Eye carried the report on its live blog on 5 September [1].

The terms are the clearest description yet of what Muscat and Tehran have been discussing. Under the latest proposal, Tehran would be able to intervene if necessary with inbound traffic, while outbound traffic would follow a route between Iran and Oman, with exit clearance granted through Oman after notifying Iran, a senior Iranian source told Reuters this week [1].

The industry's objection is legal as much as commercial. Introducing compulsory charges for transit or service fees was "a toll in all but name", the world's leading shipping associations said in an open letter sent to the UN's shipping agency, warning it "would establish a precedent that could undermine the internationally recognised legal framework governing straits used for international navigation and transit passage" [1]. The two-way traffic separation scheme now in place was adopted by that agency in 1968 with the agreement of regional states, splitting sailing corridors through Iranian and Omani waters [1].

This sharpens the argument running through earlier coverage. The IRGC has been describing daily transits as passing "with the permission of and coordination with the IRGC Navy"; a negotiated structure that adds fees and Iranian intervention rights would turn that claim into an operating rule rather than a slogan. Treat the proposal as reported, not agreed: the terms come from a single senior Iranian source, the feasibility assessment from anonymous industry sources, and no confirmation from Oman or the IMO appears in these reports.

Separately, Iran International's analysis of the mining threat says US forces struck Iranian launchers on Larak Island before they could fire rockets carrying sea mines, and that analysts including Farzin Nadimi read the rocket-delivered approach as adaptation after degradation of Iran's conventional mining means, with smaller and less destructive munitions [2]. Maritime specialists remain divided on whether Iran has operationalised the system, and General Joseph Votel noted that "the mere threat" is enough to deter commercial traffic [2]. Iranian commentators are also openly split on whether the "Strait card" still pays, and Kayhan's editor has floated cutting subsea fibre-optic cables — a proposal, not an action [2].