MUSCAT: Oman has presented a proposal to Iran for a joint regional mechanism to manage the Strait of Hormuz with voluntary fees, a Gulf source told Reuters on Tuesday.
Iran effectively shut the strait to ships other than its own after the US and Israel attacked on February 28.
A deal last month between the United States and Iran partially reopened it, but the agreement collapsed in early July after Iran fired on ships using a channel it does not approve.
Under the Omani proposal, Iran would not exercise sole control of the vital waterway, the source added.
Iran has said it wants to manage the strait alongside Oman, which controls the opposite shore, and charge service fees to ships that use it. Washington wants to return to the status quo prior to the war, when ships were able to pass freely with no payments, and says charging mandatory fees would be illegal.
The proposal is based on the Strait of Malacca, where Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore ask ships to pay voluntary contributions to fund navigation, environmental protection and search-and-rescue operations.
The US abruptly suspended a campaign of air strikes against Iran over the weekend, raising hopes of a diplomatic solution that would allow shipping to resume in the Strait of Hormuz - which carried a fifth of global energy supplies before the conflict.
President Donald Trump said on Monday the United States was having “good talks” with Iran and there was a chance of a deal, but he warned that US strikes would resume if the negotiations failed to deliver.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi discussed the Strait of Hormuz with his Omani counterpart on Monday.
“He emphasized the need to strengthen cooperation and advance joint diplomatic efforts to establish stability in the region, and lift the insecurity imposed on the Strait of Hormuz due to the aggressive actions of the United States,” according to Iran's foreign ministry statement.
A senior Iranian source confirmed to Reuters on Tuesday that Oman has presented new ideas for the management of the Strait of Hormuz, but the source said that Tehran has yet to respond.
