“The situation is sensitive and complex. We strongly advise France not to complicate it further with its provocations.” Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, said that after a day of diplomacy in Muscat, the Omani capital, on Monday, June 29, 2026.
The same day, Iran and Oman held the first session of their Joint Hormuz Committee. Gharibabadi, who handles legal and international affairs at Iran’s foreign ministry, led the Iranian side. Shaikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah al Hinai, Oman’s Ambassador-at-Large, headed the Omani delegation, the Oman Observer reported.
What the committee discussed
Both delegations spoke about coordination over the strait and possible frameworks for cooperation on navigation and maritime services. They stressed sovereignty and international law. Oman and Iran are the two littoral states on the waterway, and the talks drew on existing bilateral and international agreements.
Iran’s ANA news agency added that the discussion touched on future ways of managing the strait under Article 5 of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, along with the sovereign rights of coastal states. ANA tied the meeting to tighter maritime restrictions that followed a U.S. announcement that naval measures against Iranian vessels and ports would continue. Gharibabadi said the two sides “exchanged views on the future management” of the strait. A fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas moved through it before the conflict began, the Kuwait Times noted.
A dispute over de-mining
Not everything stayed bilateral. After talks in Paris between French President Emmanuel Macron and Omani Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, France and Oman said they would carry out “joint de-mining operations” in the region.
Tehran objected. Gharibabadi insisted the agreement gave that job to Iran alone, and he opposed outside involvement.
Washington’s separate track
On the American side, President Donald Trump posted that “IRAN HAS REQUESTED A MEETING. IT WILL TAKE PLACE TOMORROW IN DOHA!” White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said envoy Steve Witkoff and adviser Jared Kushner would travel to the Qatari capital. Gharibabadi disputed that account, saying technical talks were not “planned for this week.”
A U.S. official told reporters that both countries would “stand down for now and vessels can move freely” through and around the strait. Whether that held was left open by the reporting.
Sources
- Iran-Oman Joint Committee on Hormuz Strait holds first meeting in Muscat (Oman Observer)
- US, Tehran 'stand down'; Iran, Oman meet on Hormuz (Kuwait Times)
- Iran, Oman hold first meeting of joint committee on Strait of Hormuz (ANA, Iranian news agency)
