Iran is trying to agree a joint mechanism with Oman for the Strait of Hormuz but U.S. pressure on Oman has hindered efforts, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday (July 13).
The comments came as the U.S. and Iranian forces exchanged heavy missile and drone attacks over the weekend and into Monday, with Tehran striking U.S. facilities across the Gulf and saying it had again closed the Strait of Hormuz, sending oil prices higher.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Monday they had targeted U.S. military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait, destroyed radar systems in Oman, and hit fuel tanks and ammunition depots at Prince Hassan Air Base in Jordan in response to U.S. strikes.
The U.S. military said it had struck Iranian air defence systems, coastal radar sites, missile and drone capabilities and small boats on Sunday, using aircraft, naval vessels and drones.
The exchanges were an escalation in the pace and geographic scope of attacks over the past week, casting doubt on an interim U.S.-Iranian agreement signed last month to reopen the strait and end the war after a further 60 days of negotiations.
The war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran on February 28 has destabilised the Gulf, and spread across the region, with Iran attacking U.S. bases in multiple countries. Thousands of people have been killed, mainly in Iran and Lebanon.
