Oil Prices Plunge Below $80 as Iran and Oman Near Agreement to Reopen the Strait of Hormuz

Strait of Hormuz

Oil prices fell sharply, dropping below $80 per barrel, amid converging reports that Iran and the Sultanate of Oman are close to announcing an agreement to reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz within the next few hours or days.

The developments come as Tehran and Muscat engage in intensive negotiations to establish new arrangements for a secure maritime corridor. According to Arab and Western sources, as well as official scheduling documents, the proposed framework would allow ships to enter through Iranian territorial waters and exit via the Omani side, subject to Iranian approval.

The reports triggered a significant decline in global energy markets, coinciding with indications from Bloomberg that Tehran is considering allowing European countries to participate in maritime mine-clearing operations in the Strait.

For its part, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that positive technical and political talks with Oman are ongoing to finalize mechanisms that safeguard both countries’ sovereignty and national security, while criticizing what it described as obstructive U.S. interference.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Tasnim News Agency, citing an informed source, reported that a bilateral understanding is now within reach, independent of external pressure. The agreement could pave the way for ending the Strait’s closure, which has remained in effect since the outbreak of the war in late February, and restore the flow of global energy trade.