Araghchi arrives in Muscat for Strait of Hormuz talks; Iran says it has kept its word

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Muscat on Saturday, 11 July 2026, and was welcomed by Omani officials for talks on mechanisms for the safe transit of ships through the Strait of Hormuz. He is due to meet his Omani counterpart Badr Albusaidi to discuss "establishing appropriate mechanisms for the safe transit of ships." The visit comes as Washington has demanded that Tehran formally declare the Strait of Hormuz open to shipping.

In a post on X on Saturday, Araghchi said Iran "has so far kept its word" and accused the US Treasury Secretary of violating Paragraph 9 of the memorandum of understanding, under which the US is not to impose new sanctions or deploy additional forces to the region. His remarks followed a fresh round of US Treasury sanctions on Friday against a financier and 13 other individuals and entities. He stressed that "there can only be mutual compliance."

Iran's domestic markets reflected signs of easing tension on Saturday: the free-market dollar fell 1.86 percent and 18-karat gold dropped about 2.3 percent.