{"text":[[{"start":8.8,"text":"Iran has said it has reached an agreement with Oman on the details of a shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz, in the clearest signal yet from Tehran that a diplomatic push to reopen the vital waterway is in its final stages."}],[{"start":21.92,"text":"Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Wednesday that Tehran and Muscat had agreed on the geographical coordinates of a navigable channel, adding that a joint statement on a provisional arrangement was “in the final stages”."}],[{"start":35.36,"text":"But he cautioned that any new agreement would not by itself ensure ships’ safe passage through the strait as long as the US maintained a naval blockade on Iranian ports."}],[{"start":45.16,"text":"Reopening the strait has become US President Donald Trump’s prime goal after more than five months of war with Iran, as he looks to bring down high fuel prices ahead of November’s midterm elections."}],[{"start":56.92,"text":"Trump said on Tuesday that “a lot of progress has been made” and that a deal could be reached on Wednesday or Thursday."}],[{"start":63.48,"text":"Iranian deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi told state media that reopening the strait would have “requirements of its own”, adding that Tehran would not accept “foreign interference” in the waterway."}],[{"start":74.4,"text":"However, he said that if the deal with Oman is implemented, the new route for shipping could be used for two to four months."}],[{"start":82.16,"text":"Diplomats hope a deal between Iran and Oman will help revive a June 17 memorandum of understanding signed by Tehran and the Trump administration that was intended to extend an earlier ceasefire and gradually allow shipping through the strait to return to its prewar levels without paying fees."}],[{"start":98.28,"text":"The MoU was also supposed to lay the foundations for talks on a final settlement to end the war, including a deal on Iran’s nuclear programme, but it unravelled as the US and Iran fought over control of the strait."}],[{"start":109.84,"text":"Gharibabadi said Tehran was not currently holding direct negotiations with the US, but had received messages from Washington signalling the Trump administration was prepared to “return to their commitments”. He added that Iran has not yet made a decision on entering a “second phase”, an apparent reference to a return to the June MoU."}],[{"start":127.96,"text":"Tehran has come to regard the strait as its main source of leverage over the US. Iran closed the waterway, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas normally passes, after the US and Israel launched their war in late February."}],[{"start":141.92,"text":"Disputes over which routes ships should use to transit through the narrow waterway triggered a spiral of tit-for-tat strikes between the US and Iran, causing the June MoU to collapse."}],[{"start":152.76,"text":"Tehran and Muscat have since been holding talks to agree on a channel in the waterway that is acceptable to all sides."}],[{"start":159.84,"text":"People briefed on the negotiations said on Tuesday that Iran’s top leadership, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, had still to approve the deal."}],[{"start":169.04,"text":"In a sign of Iran’s desire to retain control over the strait, Gharibabadi said that under the arrangement with Oman, commercial vessels entering the strait would pass through Iran’s waters and outbound ships “will also cross Iran’s waters along certain sections of the path”."}],[{"start":184.12,"text":"“In order to exercise effective sovereignty in the Strait of Hormuz, which is now truly a strategic concern for us, we do not necessarily need to declare that ships must pass entirely through Iranian territorial waters,” he said."}],[{"start":197.08,"text":"Two people briefed on the talks had said vessels would enter the strait through Iranian waters and leave through mostly Omani waters."}],[{"start":204.12,"text":"Initially, Iran would send ships, including oil tankers, through the waterway to ensure it is free of mines before it opens to other shipping, one of the people said. Ships would not be charged fees during the temporary arrangement, the people added."}],[{"start":218.4,"text":"Gharibabadi said the issue of Iran not receiving any fees during the interim deal depends on a decision by the country’s authorities “to enter the second phase”."}],[{"start":226.72,"text":"If a deal holds and the strait reopens, the US would lift its naval blockade on Iranian ports and reinstate a waiver to allow Iran to sell oil and petroleum-related products, one of the people briefed on the talks said."}],[{"start":239.6,"text":"But analysts caution that any agreement between the foes would be precarious given the distrust between the parties, the defiant mood of the Islamic regime, which believes it has the upper hand, and Trump’s unpredictability."}],[{"start":249.12,"text":"Mediators have previously hoped that the negotiations were about to make a breakthrough, only for the process to hit a setback."}],[{"start":256.84,"text":"The strait was the prime trigger for recent hostilities, with Iran attacking ships that transited the chokepoint along Oman’s coastline. Tehran said the ships were using an “unauthorised” channel."}],[{"start":268.96,"text":"The US responded by striking Iran, which prompted Iranian forces to retaliate by firing missiles and drones at bases across the region used by American forces."}],[{"start":279.4,"text":"The hostilities set off the most intense round of attacks since the truce was signed in April, stoking fears of a return to full-blown war."}],[{"start":288.52,"text":"Iran’s closure of the strait has put a chokehold on oil and gas exports from the region, as well as other commodities including fertiliser feedstocks, helium and petrochemicals."}],[{"start":303.52,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1785983383_4568.mp3"}