Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says in comments to Shahrara News that talks with Oman are a “completely separate” matter from the issue of reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

“Our negotiations with Oman are ongoing. That is a completely separate matter. It is a technical issue concerning the designation of maritime routes in the Strait of Hormuz for the passage of ships,” he said, according to Al Jazeera.

“The routes that existed previously are no longer functional, so a new route needs to be defined. For now, we are designing a temporary route, which can then, at a later stage, be turned into a final route.”

He added, “We may reach an outcome soon, but I want to emphasise that these negotiations and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz are two separate issues. This is a technical negotiation concerning the designation of a maritime route.”