Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on October 25 in Tehran that the Strait of Hormuz will no longer be managed as before, and that its passage routes and operating arrangements will be reviewed with Oman. The statement matters because the narrow waterway links the Persian Gulf to the open sea and is central to regional shipping and energy flows.

Tehran signals a new approach to the strait

Araghchi said the wars in the region over the past year and a half had been a turning point that changed security conditions. “Nothing will remain the same anymore,” he said, adding that the strait’s management would not remain the same either.

He said the routes through the strait and the way it is administered would be revisited in consultation with Oman, the other coastal state on the waterway. He added that there were issues under discussion and that the talks would continue.

Araghchi says Strait has remained open for decades

Araghchi said the Strait of Hormuz has remained open for decades and that neither Iran nor Oman has obstructed ship passage. He said both countries had instead protected security and the environment.

He also argued that countries in the region should build their own security through cooperation, and said the presence of the United States and other foreign powers had brought insecurity rather than stability.

Talks with Washington and a broader security push

Araghchi said Iran had told the United States in indirect talks that the war had to end on all fronts. He also said those discussions had been carried out with the help of Pakistan, Qatar and others.

“I am thinking about what comes after the war, not the war itself,” Araghchi said.

He said Iran was seeking a shared understanding with countries around the Persian Gulf on a new regional security structure. In his telling, that was the only way to restore peace and stability in the region.

Araghchi also said a new attack on Iran would not produce a different outcome from previous wars. He did not say what specific changes to the strait’s management might follow, or when any new arrangements could take effect.