Iran rules out Omani proposal to jointly manage Strait of Hormuz

Tehran has ruled out Oman's proposal for regional joint management of the Strait of Hormuz, a senior Iranian official said on Wednesday.

Oman proposed a new regional deal aimed ‌at resolving the conflict over the critical strait, through which about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flowed before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in February.

However, Tehran ruled out Oman's proposal for regional joint management of the strait, saying it had no chance of success, Reuters reported.

The U.S. and Saudi Arabia are trying to pressure Oman to advance their "unrealistic plans" regarding the strategic strait, the official told Reuters. Iran insisted the entire inbound ​route through the strait and part of the outbound route must be under Iranian control, the official added.

A 50-50 joint control arrangement with Oman would not serve Iran’s interests, ​though Tehran considers Oman a valuable neighbour, the official said.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday its forces struck three oil tankers in the ⁠strait and forced them to stop after they ignored warnings for taking an "unsafe and illegal route".

The IRGC Navy said in it continued to maintain full control over the strategic ​waterway and warned that "unlawful U.S. military interference" and instructions to vessels in the region would not go unanswered.

In an effort to resolve the conflict over the Strait of Hormuz, Oman had presented Iran with a plan backed by Gulf ​states to manage the waterway ⁠that would include collecting voluntary fees from ships, a Gulf source and a Western diplomat said. Under the Omani proposal, Iran would not exercise sole control and fees would be voluntary, the Gulf source and the Western diplomat briefed on the matter said.

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.