A foreign ministry spokesman did not give details but said an agreement with the Gulf nation was "in the final stages".

Iran says it has reached an agreement with Oman on a route for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei did not give any further details on the agreement, which he said was "in the final stages". Baqaei warned however that a deal with Oman would not guarantee safe navigation through the strait on its own, arguing that security remains impacted by the US blockade of Iran's ports. The US and Oman have not commented on the proposal. Since the US and Israel attacked Iran in late February, Tehran has largely blocked the Strait of Hormuz through which about a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas usually passes. Since then, global oil prices have fluctuated wildly. On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump warned that Iran would be "hit very hard" if the strait did not open "very soon". His comments came after senior US officials said talks had progressed to allow shipments to potentially to resume later this week, though Iran has maintained that it is not negotiating with the US and has no plans to do so. Reopening of the strait has been a key point in discussions between the two countries and mediators. In his statement, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said the "geographical coordinates of the route" had been agreed with Oman.