Emerging Deal Gives Iran Control Over Hormuz Strait

“Iran and Oman are closing in on an agreement to reopen shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian and American officials, but if the accord goes into effect it could come at a high price — ratifying Tehran’s control over what, before the war, was an open, international waterway,” the New York Times reports.

“As described by officials familiar with the emerging accord, vessels heading into the Persian Gulf will transit a channel controlled by Iran, and close to its coast. Ships leaving the Gulf will travel on a channel near Oman.”

In the deal holds, reopening Hormuz will look less like a diplomatic compromise than recognition of Tehran’s strategic victory.