Cargo Ship Attacked in Omani Sector of the Strait of Hormuz

As talks between Iran and Oman on control over the Strait of Hormuz move forwards, a new attack has been reported off the Musandam Peninsula, in the Omani coastal channel used by GCC shipping interests.

At about 2200 hours on August 3, the crew of an unnamed cargo vessel broadcast a VHF distress signal, reporting that their ship had been hit by an unknown projectile. The incident occurred at a position about 20 nm to the northeast of Khasab, the midpoint of the "neutral" Omani coastal route through the strait.

A near-miss attack occurred about 24 hours earlier in the same region, about 20 nm northeast of Khasab. In that prior incident, the master of an unnamed tanker reported hearing a blast near the vessel. No damage occurred and the ship continued safely on its way.

All prior kinetic attacks in this area of the strait have been Iranian in origin. Iran objects to the Omani route, as it bypasses Tehran's "Persian Gulf Strait Authority" administrative regime; Iranian hardline leaders claim a sovereign right to control traffic through the strait, despite its status as a free and ungated waterway prior to the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran.

To preserve some degree of long-term control - and collect fee revenue from passing vessels - Iran is currently negotiating with the government of Oman on the contours of an acceptable split in administrative responsibilities. According to the New York Times, a proposed joint Iranian-Omani control regime for the strait would divide oversight of the channels into two directions. Inbound traffic would pass through a northern channel closer to the Iranian coast, and would be administered by Iran's authority. Outbound traffic would pass through an Omani-controlled lane. The two states would equally split the revenue from a "service fee" for each transit, a cost to shipping which did not exist before the war.

An American official who was briefed on the talks denied this account, telling the Times that the control scheme would be both temporary and toll-free.

Iran and the White House do not publicly agree on whether they are negotiating towards a peace agreement, though President Donald Trump claims that talks are progressing quickly and a "deal is imminent." On Sunday, the president called off previously-announced airstrikes on Iran, claiming that he wished to give diplomacy time to work and that he wanted to give Iran's leadership "every last chance before decapitation." Iran denies that talks with the U.S. are ongoing.

"Our negotiations are with Oman, we are focused on reaching an understanding on a route that will ensure safe shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz," an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson told Bloomberg. "These are bilateral negotiations between the two coastal states. Others can play a constructive or destructive role in this process, but the issue is with Iran and Oman."