Is Hormuz about to become the Strait of Iran?

Iran and Oman are reportedly close to agreeing a deal to end the five-month crisis in the Strait of Hormuz and re-open traffic through the vital shipping corridor.

In a report Monday, The New York Times provided Iran's account of the developing agreement, which if true would see Tehran effectively take control of the strait.

Optimism over a deal emerged over the weekend after US President Donald Trump abruptly backtracked on his threats to escalate the war. Both Trump and Iran's foreign ministry have since claimed that a deal is close, though no-one has spoken on record about what it could involve.

Will Iran control traffic through the strait?

Iranian officials told The New York Times that plans for two maritime corridors are still on the table, one transiting Iranian waters and another passing through Oman's.

They said that vessels would enter the strait via Iran's corridor and leave through Oman's – an arrangement that would hand Tehran control over which ships enter the Gulf.

A senior Iranian official offered a different account on Tuesday, telling Reuters that ships would exit the Gulf via a lane between the two countries. Omani authorities will notify Tehran before allowing ships to exit, they said.

Iran has long insisted it have veto power over which ships are allowed into the Gulf, clashing with Oman's commitment to preserving freedom of navigation.

Will it charge fees?

The officials said Iran will not impose a toll on the waterway but will charge fees for maritime services, including environmental protection and security. Revenues would be split equally between Iran and Oman.

Oman – together with the rest of the Gulf and the US – have long rejected the introduction of mandatory fees.

It put forward a compromise last month that would allow Tehran to collect "voluntary fees" paid by shipping companies.

This would follow a similar model in place in the Strait of Malacca linking the Indian and Pacific oceans, where Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore ask for voluntary contributions from shippers.

The compromise is reportedly being considered by the UK and European countries, which have led plans to set up an international maritime taskforce to enforce free passage through the strait.

What about the proposal for regional management of Hormuz?

The report makes no mention of an earlier Omani proposal to widen the participants in the management system to include other Gulf states.

Iran last month rejected a multilateral organisation and insisted that only Oman would join it in managing the waterway.

But Tehran is going to need to bring the Gulf inside the arrangement if it wants a deal, according to Andreas Krieg, associate professor in Security Studies at King's College London.

"The Gulf states will not accept an arrangement negotiated solely by the two coastal states if it leaves Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the UAE dependent on Iranian permission for their economic survival," he told The New Arab.

How credible is the information?

All of what we've heard about the deal has so far come from Iranian officials, with no-one from the Omani side either confirming or denying the claims.

A US official quoted by the Times said the Iranian account was "not accurate" and ruled out any agreement that would hand it control over traffic or allow it to charge tolls.

How will this be resolved?

Iran has refused to compromise on its key demands and indicated it would rather return to war than surrender its control over Hormuz. Meanwhile, Trump will find it difficult to sell an Iran-controlled strait in the US, where it would be regarded as a major strategic defeat. At the same time, the US military is unlikely to succeed in dislodging the Iranian military by force.

Krieg said the most likely outcome is an ambiguous compromise that hands Tehran effective control without formally recognising Iranian sovereignty.

Iran would continue to demand control over maritime traffic but would soften its language over the tolls, allowing Trump to claim that passage remains free. This would enable both countries to sell different versions of the same arrangement, he said.

"That is the only space in which a deal is currently possible."