Iran discusses Hormuz Strait in calls with Oman, Saudi Arabia

TEHRAN, July 28: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held separate phone calls on the Strait of Hormuz with his Omani and Saudi counterparts Badr Al-Busaidi and Faisal bin Farhan, state TV said Tuesday.

During the calls, "they stressed the need to strengthen cooperation and advance joint diplomatic efforts to establish stability in the region and eliminate the insecurity imposed on the Strait of Hormuz due to the aggressive actions of the United States," the state broadcaster added.

In recent weeks, fighting has also spread to involve Saudi Arabia and the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The last few days have nonetheless seen a lull in hostilities in the region.

Reuters adds, Oman has presented Iran with a plan backed by Gulf states to manage the Strait of Hormuz, including collecting voluntary fees for using it, a Gulf source and a Western diplomat told Reuters on Tuesday.

The plan could serve as a basis to end the disruption to trade through the strait caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Iran effectively shut the strait to ships other than its own after the United States 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 and fees would be voluntary, the Gulf source and Western diplomat briefed on the matter told Reuters.

The system would be analogous to one in place on Asia's 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 Western diplomat compared it to a voluntary carbon tax for flights, where anyone buying a plane ticket can choose to tick a box if they want to pay to offset their emissions.
The Gulf source said that as of Monday evening there had been no formal response from Iran to the proposal. Omani officials met Iranians in Tehran over the weekend.�"AGENCIES