[Anchor]

An announcement has been made that Iran and Oman have agreed on a new shipping route to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Attention is focused on whether this agreement will reopen the Strait of Hormuz and whether post-war negotiations between the US and Iran can resume.

This is reported by Gwak Sang-eun.

[Reporter]

The core of what Iran stated it agreed upon with Oman is a plan to use routes near Iranian waters when entering the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz for 60 days, and routes near Omani waters when exiting.

It is reported that both sides even determined the coordinates of the new route and delivered them to the US and other Gulf nations.

[Kazem Gharibabadi / Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister (Iranian state television): We have reached an in-principle agreement with Oman. There has been significant progress in negotiations, and a final settlement is just around the corner.]

If this agreement is finalized, the possibility is raised that tensions in the Strait of Hormuz will ease and pave the way for follow-up negotiations between the US and Iran, including on the nuclear program.

[Donald Trump / US President: I prefer negotiations. I don't want loss of life. Talks are currently underway, so let's see how things progress.]

However, Iran maintains that the Hormuz issue is a matter between Iran and Oman and that it will not tolerate foreign intervention.

This emphasizes control over the strait while excluding the US.

The US Wall Street Journal also reported that the draft agreement includes provisions for Iran to hold control over ships entering the Persian Gulf, but without imposing tolls.

On the other hand, Reuters reported that Iran is considering imposing a fee of up to 7% of the cargo value and Oman around 3%, while the US opposes the imposition of fees.

In addition, it is known that whether to allow Iranian control over vessels exiting the Persian Gulf remains a contentious issue.

Although a large-scale attack on Iran was put on hold due to dissuasion from neighboring countries such as Saudi Arabia, from Trump's perspective, it would not be easy to accept a negotiated settlement if control of Hormuz is handed over to Iran and transit fees are even generated.

Another variable is whether the hardline Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has taken actual control of the Strait of Hormuz, will accept the agreement reached by Iran's diplomatic authorities.

CNN projected the likelihood of a final agreement before this weekend to be at around 50%.

(Video Editing: Kim Byung-jik, Design: Seo Seung-hyun)