FEATURE | Tensions escalate as US and Saudi strikes pro-Iran groups in Iraq

Oman proposes joint management of Hormuz

In an effort to resolve the conflict over the Strait of Hormuz, Oman has presented Iran with a plan backed by Persian Gulf states to manage the waterway that would include collecting voluntary fees from ships, a gulf source and a Western diplomat told Reuters on Tuesday. Under the Omani proposal, Iran would not exercise sole control and fees would be voluntary, the gulf source and the Western diplomat briefed on the matter told Reuters.

The system would be analogous to one in place on Asia's Strait of Malacca, where Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore ask ships to pay voluntary contributions to fund navigation, environmental protection and search-and-rescue operations.

Gulf Cooperation Council foreign ministers met via video call on Tuesday to discuss the latest developments in the conflict, a statement from the Qatari Foreign Ministry said.

A US official on Tuesday again rejected the idea of tolls or fees for ships transiting the strait, reiterating that it is an international waterway that should be free of Iranian control or restrictions. The official told Reuters that the deal under discussion would not include any tolls or fees.