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IRGC Claims That Oman and Iran Have Reached Deal on Hormuz Transit Fees

Hormuz
The free and unobstructed Strait of Hormuz traffic lanes in an earlier, peaceful era (file image)

Published Aug 26, 2026 4:10 PM by The Maritime Executive

One day after Omani and Iranian negotiators hinted at an approaching agreement for a "temporary" Hormuz transit corridor, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has announced that two important points have been settled - neither of which will be viewed favorably in Washington. 

According to IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebbi, Omani and Iranian negotiators have quietly reached agreement on "each country's share of the starit's waters" and on "share of its revenues." The latter refers to the transit fee system that the IRGC wants to implement in perpetuity for traffic entering and exiting the Arabian Gulf; it could be worth billions per year, bringing in fresh revenue to support Iran's military and civil ventures. 

He told state news agency Sepah that the "U.S. is obstructing this process." Mohebbi has previously said that the launch of an open, uncontested shipping lane in and out of the Gulf would only happen when the U.S. "accepts Iran's conditions."

Oman has not confirmed Mohebbi's claims about a final revenue-sharing agreement for the strait's future operations, nor have members of Iran's civilian government establishment.  

The U.S. generally opposes a fee-for-transit structure in the strait. Last week, President Donald Trump threatened to bomb Oman - a longtime U.S. ally - in response to the news of a shared transit-fee proposal, two Mideastern officials confirmed to AP. 

America's long-term ability to prevent an Iranian-managed strait is uncertain. So far, U.S. Central Command has managed to open a transit corridor through Omani waters and provide its users with substantial (if imperfect) protection from Iranian attack. But Mohebbi noted that U.S. munitions stockpiles are depleted, as widely discussed in the American press, and he suggested that limited volumes of interceptors and missiles would have to be reallocated as soon as another conflict cropped up elsewhere in the world. He characterized the Trump administration's refocus away from military action towards "economic warfare" as a form of retreat.