Proposed Strait of Hormuz Agreement Involves Iranian Territorial Waters

NEW YORK, August 4. /TASS/. An agreement on the Strait of Hormuz, which was proposed to Iran, involves the entry of all merchant ships into the Persian Gulf through the territorial waters of the Islamic Republic, The Wall Street Journal writes.

According to its information, under the deal offered to Tehran, ships would pass into the Persian Gulf through a corridor off the coast of Iran, and leave it on a route running through the territorial waters of Oman, while no toll would be charged for exiting the Persian Gulf.

According to the newspaper, Iran requested the right to charge a toll for the passage of ships, guarantees of non-resumption of attacks, lifting the US naval blockade and easing sanctions against Iranian oil. The United States and Middle Eastern countries, the newspaper writes, rejected the demand for a toll and want guarantees of the absence of threats from Tehran.

According to the WSJ, some representatives of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) told the negotiators that Tehran would not accept a deal without Iran's right to control the strait, and that Tehran was ready to fight for months if necessary.

If the mediators reach an agreement, the next step will be to restore the memorandum of understanding. Pakistan has offered to host a new round of Iran-US talks.

On August 2, US President Donald Trump said that he had agreed to cancel a planned powerful strike on Iran to strike a deal with Tehran. According to him, Iran and the countries of the Middle East have asked Washington to refrain from attacks, as the parties have agreed on the outlines of a future agreement. It should include an immediate opening of the Strait of Hormuz and the elimination of the Iranian nuclear threat. On Tuesday, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed bin Mohammed al-Ansari said that Washington and Tehran were exchanging draft agreements through intermediaries, but no direct negotiations were planned yet.