• Details to be announced soon; final decision to be made at higher levels, says Iranian official
• Vessel traffic through Hormuz dwindles this week
• Abu Dhabi state oil firm says attacks on vessels impacting operations
• Iranian deputy FM says diplomacy must continue during wartime

TEHRAN: An Iranian official said that a framework of understanding with Oman regarding the Strait of Hormuz has been agreed upon, Al Jazeera reported.

“The general framework of the understanding with Oman has been determined, and the final text and details will be announced soon,” Hassan Ghashghavi, spokesman for the Iranian parliament’s National Security Commission, told the IRNA state news agency. “Of course, the final decision must be made at higher levels.”

The Strait of Hormuz is the world’s most important oil shipping chokepoint, carrying roughly a fifth of global oil consumption. Shipping through the waterway has been repeatedly disrupted since the US-Israeli war on Iran expanded into a regional conflict, with attacks on commercial vessels raising freight rates and security concerns.

A proposed deal between Iran and Oman to give Tehran control over ships entering the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz is not easily workable because of US sanctions and restrictive insurance clauses on payments, industry sources said.

Shipping traffic falls

Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has dwindled to 33 vessels from Monday to Thursday this week, data showed, versus 50 in the week-ago period, as markets watched talks between Iran and Oman for signs of progress in reopening the key waterway, Reuters reported.

Four vessels transited the strait a day earlier, including a very large crude carrier, Nissos Kea, carrying about 2 million barrels of Basrah crude loaded in Iraq, Kpler data showed.

Of the rest, two were laden with liquefied petroleum gas, and one was a minor bulk carrier.

Just six crude oil tankers have exited the strait this week, Kpler data showed. A total of 21 vessels have entered it so far, mostly via the Iranian route.

Several Chinese and Indian refiners have sought vessels this week to enter the strait and load crude at Iraq’s Basrah Oil Terminal, attracted by steep discounts, shipping sources said. However, no vessels have been fixed so far as shipowners are wary of entering the waterway, they said.

Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) said on Friday it was being significantly impacted by what it described as unprovoked attacks on its people and assets, as it sought to continue meeting customer requirements in an “exceptionally challenging environment”.

It said in a statement that 15 of its vessels had been attacked by missiles and drones while transiting the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the conflict, including three this week, leaving one crew member dead and 20 injured.

US tightens sanctions

The US has imposed new sanctions targeting companies, exchange houses and financial facilitators it claims helped Iran secretly move hundreds of millions of dollars through the international financial system, Anadolu reports.

“Teapot refinery purchases of Iranian oil provide the primary economic lifeline for the Iranian regime, the world’s leading state sponsor of terror,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says in a statement.

In a separate statement, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott says the measures are intended to “cut the financial lifelines that sustain Iran’s ruling elite”.

“Through these networks, Tehran accessed oil revenue and evaded sanctions designed to curb its destabilising activities, laundering funds using front companies,” Pigott alleges.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi noted that while diplomacy needed to continue during wartime, messages, positions and language must adapt to the conditions.

In an interview with IRNA, Gharibabadi said that diplomacy in war should not reflect weakness against the enemy, adding that “unnecessary flexibility emboldens the enemy”.

“It is correct that when a country is at war, the door to diplomacy should not be closed, as most wars have been resolved through diplomacy and negotiation,” he said. “Diplomacy and the battlefield must be fully coordinated … this coordination has never been as strong as it is now.”

Published in Dawn, August 8th, 2026