Iran and Oman are drafting a protocol to “monitor transits” through the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state news agency IRNA reported Thursday morning, citing officials.
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Law and International Affairs Kazem Ghalibabadi said tanker traffic along the vital oil route “should be supervised and coordinated” with both countries, according to a translation of the report by IRNA.
“Of course, these requirements are not meant to be restrictive, but rather to facilitate and ensure safe navigation and provide better service to vessels passing through this route,” Gharibabadi was quoted as saying.
U.S. stock indexes, which had fallen sharply on Thursday morning after President Donald Trump suggested the Iran war would continue in the coming weeks, suddenly turned higher following the IRNA report.
Oil prices, which had similarly soared overnight, fell from the day’s highs following news from Oman that offered hope that the Strait of Hormuz may be able to reopen to some degree without the need for military force.
The strait, a key artery for much of the world’s oil shipments, has been effectively closed since the U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran began the war on Feb. 28.
Iran’s blockade quickly triggered a historic spike in oil prices, triggering a cascading crisis with far-reaching effects around the world.
President Trump has argued that the U.S. imports relatively little oil through the strait and is therefore unaffected by the closure. “We have never needed it and we don’t need it,” he said in an address to the nation Wednesday night.
But despite that, average gasoline prices in the U.S. have soared more than 30% in a month, topping $4 a gallon for the first time in years.
