Muscat brings Washington and Tehran together again... and the Strait of Hormuz is the key to upcoming understandings

The United States and Iran are preparing to resume their talks today, Saturday, in the Sultanate of Oman, amid U.S. anticipation of an official Iranian position on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and restoring shipping traffic there to what it was before the outbreak of the war.

ABC News quoted U.S. officials as saying that Washington is demanding that Tehran issue a clear declaration confirming the opening of all maritime passages in the strait to commercial vessels, along with providing guarantees that shipping will not be targeted again.

According to the officials, the U.S. administration views the issuance of such a declaration as an essential step in building confidence, warning that Tehran’s failure to provide a formal commitment on this matter during Saturday could be interpreted as a negative signal regarding the course of the upcoming negotiations.