Iran-Oman Strait of Hormuz talks stall as IRGC demands rise, regional allies forge new defense pact
Negotiations between the United States, Iran and Oman on a temporary shipping arrangement in the Strait of Hormuz collapsed after Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps raised additional demands, while Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed a mutual-defence agreement.
Regional officials said a provisional agreement between Iran and Oman on routing commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was close to completion earlier this week. The plan would have created separate lanes for inbound and outbound vessels, removed mines, imposed no tolls and restarted a 60-day cease-fire clock that could have revived broader U.S.–Iran talks on the nuclear program and frozen assets.
According to four Gulf officials and a senior U.S. source, the deal fell apart when Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intervened, demanding that the United States lift the blockade, remove newly imposed sanctions, allow Iran to sell oil in dollars and introduce tolls. The IRGC’s position, they said, shifted the negotiations beyond the original temporary framework.
"We have seen this movie from the Islamic Republic before, where you think a deal is close or imminent or at hand, and, last minute, the parameters change and the government asked for more," said Behnam Ben Taleblu of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Ghalibaf, blamed the United States for what he called “theater diplomacy,” urging Washington to acknowledge facts and fulfill its commitments without further theatrics.
"Acknowledge the facts, fulfill your commitments. We don't need more theater," Ghalibaf said.
Ali Vaez, Iran project director at the International Crisis Group, argued that internal divisions in Tehran are overstated and that the Revolutionary Guards are directing the country's foreign-policy choices.
"The Revolutionary Guards is in charge and is calling the shots," Vaez said.
In parallel developments, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, pledging collective defence similar to NATO’s Article 5. The three Sunni-majority states presented the pact as a new security arrangement that does not replace existing U.S. ties but reflects growing regional concerns over Iran’s influence in the Strait of Hormuz.