Iran says preparing joint Hormuz navigation protocol with Oman

TEHRAN — Iran said on Thursday it was drafting a peacetime protocol that would supervise maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz with Oman, state media reported, with Tehran's closure of the vital oil corridor roiling the global economy. Deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi told Russia's Sputnik state media that the protocol would apply after the ongoing war with the United States and Israel had ended, setting basic rules to manage ship movements, the IRNA news agency said. "We are currently finalising the drafting of this protocol and, once it has been finalised internally, we will undoubtedly begin negotiations with the Omani side in order to reach a joint protocol," he said. Oman has yet to report any such negotiations. Its foreign minister said last month his country was "working intensively to put in place safe passage arrangements for the Strait of Hormuz."