Strait of Hormuz Latest: Iran Vows Waterway Will Never Return to Pre-War Status as More Tankers Hit Mines

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran's top negotiator said the Strait of Hormuz will "never return" to its prewar status. New attacks on shipping and an alleged Iranian strike on an Omani island raised fresh concerns about the world's most important oil chokepoint.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran's parliament speaker and chief negotiator, made the comments in an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera published Wednesday.

Ghalibaf said Iran and Oman had reached an understanding to oversee the waterway as part of Tehran's seven-point proposal to end the eight-month conflict with the United States and Israel.

"There are no 'free waters' there," Ghalibaf said. He argued that the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea does not apply to the strait. "The regulations within the Strait of Hormuz are governed by the laws of the two littoral states that border it," he said.

Iran's demands

Iran's conditions include lifting the U.S. naval blockade and sanctions, releasing frozen Iranian funds, ending fighting on all fronts and an explicit announcement that the war has ended.

Iran sent its response through a Qatari mediator and is waiting for an official U.S. reply. "The ball is now in the American court," Ghalibaf said.

"What stands in the way of an agreement is our lack of trust in the United States," he added.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has rejected Iran's demand for war reparations. No agreement to end the conflict has been announced.

Tankers hit mines

Iranian forces reported several more incidents in the strait this week. Iran's army said Wednesday that an oil tanker struck a naval mine and caught fire in the eastern part of the strait after entering a "prohibited area without authorisation."

Iran's Revolutionary Guard later said two more tankers hit mines. The tankers were not identified, and the reports could not be independently verified.

The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations agency separately reported a tanker incident in the strait and advised caution.

On Tuesday, the Liberia-flagged supertanker MT Fujairah Energy was struck by a projectile in the Gulf, injuring crew members. India's shipping minister said one Indian crew member suffered minor injuries.

Iran treats ships using a southern corridor near the Omani coast as unauthorized.

Oman island strike

Iran attacked ship navigation systems on Oman's Didamar Island in the Strait of Hormuz, three sources told Reuters. Iranian state media said the Revolutionary Guard had destroyed "enemy navigation systems" on the island.

Reuters verified video showing smoke rising from the island, but it was unclear what was burning. Two shipping sources and a maritime security source said the strike was likely to have limited impact on commercial shipping.

However, a senior Omani official told the Maritime Executive that navigation aids on Didamar had not been struck. Oman has tried to remain neutral in the conflict.

Didamar, also known as Little Quoin Island, sits off Oman's Musandam Peninsula next to the southern shipping corridor.

Shipping collapse

Traffic through the strait remains a fraction of normal levels. Just three vessels transited on Nov. 8, about 4% of typical traffic, according to PortWatch data cited by the Straits.live tracker.

Before the war, nearly 20 million barrels of oil a day, about 20% of global consumption, passed through the strait, mostly bound for China, India, South Korea and Japan.

Gulf exporters have increasingly used ship-to-ship transfers off Oman and the UAE to keep oil moving. The U.S. military has helped some commercial vessels transit the strait.

The International Maritime Organization has warned that it cannot guarantee ships will avoid striking mines in the waterway.

Background

Iran has restricted commercial shipping through the strait since the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran began in late February. The United States has imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports.

The U.S. struck Iran's Qeshm Island on Nov. 2, according to reports citing U.S. officials.

Insurer Allianz Trade estimates the war has caused more than $200 billion in physical damage across Gulf countries, with more than 80 energy facilities struck.