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booksellers suspect AI firms behind bulk ordersEtna alert lowered as Catania airport reopensFuneral held for Indigenous girl whose death sparked outback riotsIran rejects US claim to Hormuz as ship attacks mount600 drones head for Moscow as Russia strikes Kyiv and Kryvyi RihDeath toll passes 50 after magnitude 7.7 quake off FloresIsraeli strikes kill 11 in south Lebanon, deadliest since June truceColombia asks Trump to suspend tariffs as quake toll climbsRhine hits record low at Kaub as Hungary sinks barges to cool reactorUS readies unprecedented economic measures against IranUS boat strikes pass 200 dead as Ecuadorean fishermen describe attacksBond traders struggle to price $70bn of credit backstops behind AI buildoutAlibaba says its open AI models passed three billion downloadsDeath toll rises to 68 after Lake Kariba ferry sinkingTaliban mark five years in power as UN warns of rights crisisEU aircraft join fight against Belgium's record wildfireUS presses Netanyahu over settlers as Qusra homes are occupiedMokha port halts operations as Houthi missiles hit MaribSeoul proposes talks to end the Korean war as North rejects drillsChina-led perovskite solar plant outperforms silicon in three-month field testOpenAI revenue run rate passes $40bn as revenue chief departsHamas leader in Cairo as Kushner trip nearsWHO says Congo's Ebola outbreak is outpacing the responseTurkish parliament passes amnesty law for PKK membersMorocco detains scores near Ceuta as feared mass crossing fails to materialiseChina publishes ecology reports to bolster South China Sea claimsMyanmar says more than 300,000 Rohingya verified for repatriationPetrobras detects signs of oil off the mouth of the AmazonChina condemns Japanese politicians' moves at Yasukuni ShrineUS inflation cools as wages again lag behind pricesModi offers free exam coaching after youth protests in IndiaOil from grounded Russian tanker reaches Oman's coastPanama Canal cuts draught again as Mexico pitches rival corridorUkraine's idle ports cost $1.75bn as farm exports fallFormer Chinese premier Zhu Rongji diesAt least 20 killed in communal clashes in central NigeriaIran accuses Qatar of holding three of its pilotsXi calls for shift to prevention as floods batter ChinaVenezuela frees 131 more political prisonersMore Syrians in Germany lose refugee protectionAudit finds gaps in Taiwan's counter-drone defencesIndia drafts rules to open nuclear power to private firmsHichilema takes early lead as Zambian count resumesParis prosecutors open investigation into tax portal hackReport details leverage behind Situational Awareness lossesArgentina has lost 30,633 companies under MileiAt least five dead in Indiana floodingIran detains two French diplomats over alleged infiltrationCanadian petition to expel US ambassador passes 170,000 signaturesIndia raises $50bn from its diaspora and ends swap facility earlyOpaque start-ups build erotic AI industry from Cyprus and MaltaBritain's biggest EV battery plant shelves expansion as Jaguar Land Rover talks stallThird drone debris find in a day on Turkish coastsForecasters put 95 percent odds on a very strong El NiñoSecondhand booksellers suspect AI firms behind bulk ordersEtna alert lowered as Catania airport reopensFuneral held for Indigenous girl whose death sparked outback riots
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Symbolic image: US says Hormuz reopening deal is close as Iran presses for transit tollsSymbolic image

US says Hormuz reopening deal is close as Iran presses for transit tolls

6 sources

A US official said on Friday that Washington expects an Iran-Oman agreement to reopen commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz within days. Whether Iran may charge passing ships remains unresolved.

What happened

  • Axios reported on Friday, 7 August, that Iran's Supreme National Security Council still has to approve the text.
  • Iran's foreign ministry said on Wednesday that Tehran and Muscat had agreed the geographic details of the shipping route.
  • The framework runs 60 days: inbound ships use the corridor nearest Iran, outbound ships the one nearest Oman, a senior official told Al Arabiya.
  • Secretary of State Marco Rubio reported progress on Tuesday; Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent spoke on Friday of a 30 to 60 day ceasefire.
  • Trump left a State Department roundtable early on Friday, saying he had a war to lead.

The view from outside

The National (UAE) quotes maritime experts, including RUSI's Petras Katinas, warning that any toll would break UNCLOS "innocent passage" and let other states charge in the Turkish, Danish or Bering straits. The Guardian reports Tehran is stretching the timetable: deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi told IRNA that nuclear talks would follow only two to four months after the shipping route is settled.

What could happen next

  • No signing date is set; the Supreme National Security Council's approval is the last step named by the mediators.
  • Iran is seeking sanctions relief in exchange for toll-free passage, sources told The National.
  • Washington calls its steps "performance-based", leaving open when the blockade of Iranian ports actually ends.
  • Gharibabadi's sequence, sanctions relief, unfrozen assets, non-belligerence pledges, would run past November's midterms.
How the camps see it

  • Iran: Tehran wants a recognised role in managing traffic through the strait plus a service fee, and treats sanctions relief and an end to the port blockade as conditions before nuclear talks.

  • United States: Washington expects a deal soon and says it will lift the blockade of Iranian ports once unimpeded commercial shipping resumes, with each further step tied to Iranian implementation.

  • Oman: Muscat is mediating and would jointly oversee the strait's shipping corridors under the interim arrangement.

Also involved

Gulf and shipping interests

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