The two Strait of Hormuz proposals in detail: Oman's 50-50 plan and Iran's bid to oversee both lanes

Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran's deputy foreign minister, set out the details of the two proposals on the table for the Strait of Hormuz in a state television broadcast on Tuesday 28 July 2026 (6 Mordad 1405). According to Al Jazeera on Wednesday 29 July, Oman has proposed a regional mechanism under which the shipping route would lie 50 percent in Iranian territorial waters and 50 percent in Omani waters, with vessels entering through Iranian waters and exiting through Omani ones. The plan also envisages voluntary fees from vessels and resembles the Strait of Malacca model.

Gharibabadi said Iran rejected the plan over national security concerns and put forward its own: "Our proposal is for one route to lie entirely within the territorial waters of the Islamic Republic of Iran, with part of the other route also passing through Iranian territorial waters, so that Iran can effectively exercise oversight over both inbound and outbound traffic." He warned the strait would stay closed if Oman rejects the plan, and said a return to the pre-war situation, when ships passed without paying any toll, is not possible.

Al Jazeera reported that Oman is considering a third plan with three lanes: one in Iranian waters, one international and one in Omani waters. The dispute over fees continues: the Malacca voluntary mechanism raises about 70 million dollars a year, while Tehran has reportedly floated a figure of about one million dollars per ship as a service fee.