Iran meeting with Gulf countries to discuss Strait of Hormuz deal without the US

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Gulf diplomats and Iranian officials will meet Monday to discuss an Omani plan for reopening the Strait of Hormuz to regular tanker traffic, but a critical player won’t be at the table: the United States.

Despite shipping traffic remaining depressed, President Donald Trump has insisted the state of the waterway is acceptable for now with the US military escorting oil tankers.

But the meeting on Monday underscores that — despite active efforts to develop alternative corridors for passage through the strait — countries in the region are unwilling to accept the status quo as the new normal. After months of private discussions on a complicated possible legal framework to reopen the strait that could allow Iran and Oman to collect fees , diplomats are hopeful the gathering could create some momentum for a deal.

“There is no imminent breakthrough expected, but resolving the strait issue is the most pressing issue, so we need to start somewhere,” a regional source said.

The possibility of Iranian tolls is still widely rejected, but there is a willingness to consider voluntary contributions for directing passage through the strait, the sources said. The Omani legal framework includes voluntary payment for providing navigational safety and environmental protection, according to three sources familiar with the plans.

Trump administration officials have privately told those in the Gulf region that they want to refocus any future US-Iran negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear program and not reopening the strait, according to three sources familiar with the matter.

“I’m not trying to force Iran to the bargaining table,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday night, after Iran retaliated following US strikes. “I like our position now much better, with almost total control of the Hormuz Strait, and their economy totally collapsing.”

One goal for the Monday meeting is to agree on maps for routes going through the strait, one of the sources said. Still, the likelihood of the Gulf Corporation Council countries and Iran getting behind a comprehensive plan to open the waterway will be virtually impossible without the US at the table.

While the US initially underestimated Iran’s willingness to close the strait in response to the US and Israel launching combat operations earlier this year — a strategic error that Tehran has capitalized on by leveraging its ability to threaten commercial shipping and prolong the war — American forces believe they have now reached a point where they, militarily, have the upper hand in the waterway, a US official said.

“We don’t want to talk about the strait, and that is the position of the administration right now — we’re only going to talk to you if you want to talk about nuclear file,” the official said.

Iranians have signaled to regional players that they would be open to nuclear negotiations with the US when the strait issue is resolved, including lifting the US blockade, the regional source said. As a result, getting the ball rolling on a framework to reopen the waterway is likely a critical step to pave the way for nuclear negotiations and an overall end to the war.

The possibility of mandatory fees or tolls for tanker traffic will be a major sticking point. Before the conflict broke out, the waterway was open to commercial traffic without any required charges. And in the early days of the conflict, the US and regional players were adamant about one thing: The postwar status of waterway could not include new fees, especially fees that would financially benefit Iran.

Now, after months of surging global energy prices and intensive work on a legal framework to reopen the strait, the absolutist nature of this sentiment has faded, according to multiple European and Gulf diplomats.

“We won’t accept something that was not there before, but there could be symbolic new rules that allow both sides to save face from both sides,” said a European diplomat briefed on the Omani proposal.

Trump administration officials have reviewed the plans being drafted by Oman in recent months, sources said, but they have not publicly signed onto the framework. Instead, Trump and members of his administration continue to claim that the US is the only player that can facilitate an open waterway.

“We are the only country in the world that can ensure, as you heard the president say, the control over the Strait of Hormuz,” Vice President JD Vance said last week.

In recent weeks, the number of oil tankers moving through the strait has greatly increased due to US military escorts enabling passage, though commercial ships continue to be struck by Iranian attacks as they attempt to transit.

There are questions, however, around how long the US military can credibly maintain its substantial commitment of ships and resources to aid in moving ships through the Strait.

The US Navy has successfully escorted as many as 40 commercial vessels on a given day, but the complexity of those operations underscores how Iran still poses a real threat to those ships and the American military personnel tasked with protecting them.

As a result, US diplomats and regional sources privately concede that the Gulf effort to develop a framework to reopen the strait is a necessary endeavor — even if the US is not at the table for the first meeting.

The administration has also sought to downplay just how vital the waterway may be in the years to come, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently claiming the strait will become “like a worthless piece of water” within two years.

While regional players and US officials say resiliency in developing alternative routes for energy exports has been impressive, they argue that finding a long-term solution for the strait should remain a priority. The need to develop that plan is even more necessary given recent Houthi military successes that have threatened passage out of the Red Sea, the sources said.

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海湾外交官和伊朗官员将于周一会面，讨论阿曼关于重新开放霍尔木兹海峡以允许油轮正常通行的计划，但一个关键角色将不会参与其中：美国。

尽管航运交通依然低迷，但唐纳德·特朗普总统坚称，目前该水道的状况尚可接受，因为美国军方正在护送油轮。

但周一的会议凸显出，尽管各方积极努力开发穿越海峡的替代通道，但该地区各国仍不愿接受现状作为新的常态。经过数月关于重新开放海峡的复杂法律框架的私下磋商（该框架可能允许伊朗和阿曼收取费用），外交官们希望此次会议能够为达成协议创造一些动力。

一位地区消息人士表示：“预计不会很快取得突破，但解决海峡问题是最紧迫的问题，所以我们需要从某个地方开始。”

消息人士称，伊朗征收通行费的可能性仍然普遍遭到反对，但各方愿意考虑为引导船只通过海峡而自愿捐款。三位知情人士透露，阿曼的法律框架中包含为保障航行安全和环境保护而自愿付费的条款。

据三位知情人士透露，特朗普政府官员私下告诉海湾地区的人士，他们希望将未来美伊谈判的重点重新放在德黑兰的核计划上，而不是重新开放海峡。

“我并不想强迫伊朗回到谈判桌前，”特朗普周二晚在Truth Social网站上写道，此前伊朗对美国空袭进行了报复。“我现在更喜欢我们的处境，我们几乎完全控制了霍尔木兹海峡，而他们的经济正在彻底崩溃。”

一位消息人士称，周一会议的目标之一是就穿越海峡的航线图达成一致。然而，如果没有美国的参与，海湾合作委员会成员国和伊朗几乎不可能就一项全面开放该水道的计划达成一致。

一位美国官员表示，虽然美国最初低估了伊朗在今年早些时候美国和以色列发动军事行动后关闭霍尔木兹海峡的意愿——这是一个战略错误，德黑兰利用其威胁商业航运和延长战争的能力加以利用——但美军认为，他们现在已经达到了在军事上控制这条水道的地步。

“我们不想谈论海峡问题，这也是本届政府目前的立场——只有当你们想谈论核问题时，我们才会和你们谈，”这位官员说。

地区消息人士称，伊朗已向地区各方发出信号，表示一旦霍尔木兹海峡问题得到解决，包括美国解除封锁，伊朗就愿意与美国进行核谈判。因此，尽快启动重新开放该水道的框架，很可能是为核谈判铺平道路，并最终结束战争的关键一步。

对油轮航行征收强制性费用或通行费的可能性将是一个主要症结所在。冲突爆发前，这条水道对商业航运完全开放，无需任何费用。而在冲突初期，美国和地区各方都坚持一点：战后这条水道的现状不能包含任何新的收费项目，尤其是那些会使伊朗获利的收费项目。

据多位欧洲和海湾国家的外交官称，经过数月全球能源价格飙升和为重新开放海峡而进行的密集法律框架研究之后，这种绝对主义情绪已经消退。

一位了解阿曼提议的欧洲外交官表示：“我们不会接受以前不存在的东西，但可以制定一些象征性的新规则，让双方都能保住面子。”

消息人士称，特朗普政府官员近几个月来审阅了阿曼正在起草的计划，但尚未公开签署该框架协议。相反，特朗普及其政府成员仍然声称，美国是唯一能够促成开放水道的国家。

“正如你们听到总统所说，我们是世界上唯一能够确保控制霍尔木兹海峡的国家，”副总统JD Vance上周表示。

最近几周，由于美国军方的护航，通过海峡的油轮数量大幅增加，但商船在试图通过海峡时仍继续遭到伊朗的袭击。

然而，美国军方究竟能够维持多久的大量舰船和资源投入，以帮助船只通过海峡，仍然存在疑问。

美国海军曾成功护送多达 40 艘商船，但这些行动的复杂性凸显了伊朗仍然对这些船只和负责保护它们的美国军事人员构成真正的威胁。

因此，美国外交官和地区消息人士私下承认，海湾国家为重新开放海峡而制定的框架的努力是必要的——即使美国没有参加第一次会议。

政府还试图淡化这条水道在未来几年可能的重要性，财政部长斯科特·贝森特最近声称，这条海峡将在两年内变得“像一片毫无价值的水域”。

尽管地区各方和美国官员表示，在开发替代能源出口路线方面展现出的韧性令人印象深刻，但他们认为，为海峡问题找到长期解决方案仍应是当务之急。消息人士称，鉴于胡塞武装近期取得的军事胜利已威胁到红海的出海通道，制定该计划的必要性就显得更加迫切。