Christmas. 11, 2026, 11:01 AM EDT<\/time><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

After another broken ceasefire<\/a>Iran on Saturday engaged with Mideast regional leaders seeking to resolve Iran’s standoff wth the U.S., its Gulf neighbors — and the rest of the world that relies on oil — over passage through the Strait of Hormuz<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Following two days of conflict between the United States and Iran — and even as Iran’s supreme leader and President Donald Trump traded threats<\/a> — a new round of diplomacy centered on reopening the strait took place in the Omani capital, Muscat, on Saturday. A delegation from Iran led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited Muscat, the capital, for further talks, a day after Qatari-mediated discussions in Tehran.<\/p>\n

A senior Middle East diplomat with direct knowledge of the talks told MS NOW that France and Britain are studying proposals drafted by Oman that may allow the charging of navigational fees in the strait with the support of the United Nation’s International Maritime Organization, which oversees shipping routes.<\/p>\n

Qatari mediators also held what an Iranian official described as “positive” de-escalation talks in Tehran on Friday.<\/p>\n

Qatar and Pakistan are mounting a new diplomatic effort to bring the U.S. and Iran back to the negotiating table after renewed strikes this week threatened to plunge the region into another prolonged round of fighting, regional officials told MS NOW.<\/p>\n

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Two regional government officials familiar with the talks said a Qatari delegation traveled to Tehran as part of a coordinated effort with Pakistan aimed at de-escalating the conflict and facilitate a new round of U.S.-Iran talks in Doha or Islamabad in the coming days.<\/p>\n

The officials spoke to MS NOW on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions surrounding the warring nations.<\/p>\n

Separately, an Iranian government official told MS NOW that the Qatari mediators left Iran on Friday evening following discussions that focused on “de-escalation” and were considered “positive.” But the official disputed President Donald Trump’s claim that Iran had asked the U.S. to continue negotiations.<\/p>\n

“Iran has not agreed to continue talks with the U.S.,” the official said, adding that negotiations would only resume when Washington stopped what Tehran considers violations of the ceasefire.<\/p>\n

On Friday Trump said the U.S. had agreed to a request from Iran to renew negotiations, but that the tenuous ceasefire was “over.”<\/p>\n

Saturday’s meeting focused on the Strait of Hormuz is seen as crucial because the latest escalation began after Iran allegedly attacked commercial vessels that Tehran said were failing to follow its designated routes along the key waterway. The U.S. responded with two nights of strikes against Iran, hitting maritime targets along the country’s southern and eastern coasts. Iran then fired missiles and drones at U.S. sites in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Jordan.<\/p>\n

The fighting has disrupted traffic through the vital chokepoint, through which roughly a fifth of the world’s total oil supply travels. The number of ships passing through the strait has fallen sharply, with a slight and brief uptick following the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. and Iran on June 18.<\/p>\n

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif spent Friday working the phones, holding separate conversations with Iranian President Masoud Pzeshkian and Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Sharif said on social media.<\/p>\n

Sharif said he told Pzeshkian that “restraint, dialogue and diplomacy” were necessary to protect the peace gains made during previous negotiations. He also reiterated Pakistan’ readiness to continue acting as what he called an “honest and sincere mediator.”<\/p>\n

During his conversation with the Qatari emir, Sharif said he offered condolences over Iran’s strikes against U.S.-allied countries and urged regional governments to avoid actions that could further undermine stability.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The renewed mediation illustrated the now familiar pattern of this conflict, well into its fifth month: Iran targets ships in or around the Strait of Hormuz. The United States retaliates with strikes against Iran. Tehran responds by attacking American assets across neighboring Arab countries — including Qatar, even as Doha attempts to serve as a mediator. Pakistan and Qatar then step in, urging restraint and trying to get the two sides back into the same room.<\/p>\n

Talks follow, a temporary understanding is reached, but the underlying disputes remain unresolved and the cycle begins again, making it less of a peace process and more of a regional crisis management system.<\/p>\n

The Strait of Hormuz has emerged as the most immediate test as Iran wields greater authority over how vessels move through the waterway. Washington and its Gulf partners reject any arrangement that allows Tehran to impose routes, restrictions or payment unilaterally.<\/p>\n

“Expectations should remain limited” for a diplomatic breakthrough, a Gulf government senior official told MS NOW.<\/p>\n

At the International Maritime Organization in London on Thursday, Oman’s undersecretary of transport, Khamis bin Mohammed Al Shamakhi, “reaffirmed Oman’s commitment to the security and safety of international sea lanes, the protection of lives and the uninterrupted flow of global trade,” according to Oman’s foreign ministry.<\/p>\n

The statement also said the Omani delegation met with the secretary-general of the IMO, Arsenio Dominguez. “They discussed ways to strengthen cooperation and ongoing coordination between Oman and the Organization in the fields of maritime security and safety, marine environmental protection and enhanced response and coordination in addressing maritime challenges.”<\/p>\n

The talks in Muscat Saturday between Iran and Oman following renewed fighting between the U.S. and Iran are singularly focused on the strait, the senior Middle East diplomat said, in terms of “disputed control of the strait of Hormuz and its reopening” but also the “long-term management of the waterway and the freedom of moment of shipping through it.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Inzamam Rashid is a MS NOW contributor and Monocle’s Gulf Correspondent based in Dubai. He has previously reported for Sky News and the BBC<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Ian Sherwood is the director of international newsgathering for MS NOW, a former executive editor for NBC News and a former deputy Washington bureau chief for the BBC.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n
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