Iran working to finalize Hormuz agreement with Oman, and other Middle East updates

Oil residue lines the shore near fishing boats on Qeshm Island, Iran, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, amid ongoing wartime attacks on vessels and infrastructure in and around the Strait of Hormuz, though the spill's source has not been independently determined.(Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP)

Iran said Monday it is working to finalize a joint statement with Oman on a plan to manage the transit of ships through the Strait of Hormuz. Fully reopening the waterway to commercial shipping has been a key demand of the United States, but it remains unclear whether the deal will meet Washington’s criteria.

The announcement came as the 60-day negotiating period to find a peace deal between the U.S. and Iran was expiring, with no word of an extension and both sides seemingly as far apart as they were two months ago.

Here’s a look at the latest developments in the Iran war and the wider Middle East.

Iran says it is near finalizing deal with Oman over plan for Strait of Hormuz shipping

Iran said Monday it has reached an agreement with Oman over a plan for ships to transit the Strait of Hormuz, which runs between the two countries, and the sides are now working to finalize details for a joint statement.

Iranian Foreign Affairs spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters in Tehran that “an understanding has been reached regarding the map of the transit route.”

He did not elaborate, but details that have previously emerged suggest the deal would reopen the strait with ships entering through a route close to Iran and exiting through a route close to Oman. Ships would transit without paying fees or tolls during the interim period.

The U.S. has sought an acceptable deal on opening the strait before ending its blockade of Iranian ports and it was not clear whether this would meet Washington’s expectations.

Iran effectively closed the strait — through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s traded oil supplies passed before the war — after Israel and the U.S. attacked the country on Feb. 28.

Baghaei conceded the talks with Oman have gone slowly, “but we had planned, and still plan, to finalize the understanding in the form of a package: the map plus a joint statement.”

His comments came as a 60-day deadline for finding an agreement to end the war expired, with no signs of a deal between the U.S. and Iran.

Kushner meeting with Netanyahu as he seeks approval of Gaza road map

Mideast negotiator Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, was holding meetings with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the day after he had talks with Hamas chief Khalil al-Hayya in Egypt on disarmament.

The meetings with Netanyahu come after the Israeli leader rejected a 15-point, U.S.-backed road map to move the truce deal forward in Gaza.

Hamas says it has agreed to the road map, which includes disarmament, and the group is urging mediators and the U.S.-created Board of Peace to “compel” Israel to sign on as well.

But Israel, which under the road map must withdraw from Gaza, says Hamas must fully disarm before any Israeli withdrawal will occur.

Israeli troops occupy about 60 per cent of the strip and Netanyahu has previously threatened to advance further.

Iraqi officials targeted by drone attacks

Two officials in northern Iraq have been targeted in drone attacks that the regional counterterrorism service said were launched from the border with Iran.

One was fired at the office of Masoud Barzani, prime minister of Iraq’s semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region, and the other targeted the home of a top regional intelligence official, the counterterrorism service said.

There were no casualties and it was unclear whether the buildings were damaged. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Since the beginning of the U.S.-Iran war, Iran and Iranian-backed Iraqi militant groups have launched regular attacks on U.S. military and diplomatic facilities in Iraq and on bases of exiled Iranian Kurdish dissident groups, but Monday’s direct attack on regional government buildings was unusual.

Barzani in a post on X called the attack “a dangerous escalation and a direct threat to the security and stability of the Kurdistan Region.”

The attack comes as U.S. forces currently stationed in the Kurdish region of Iraq have begun withdrawing ahead of a Sept. 30 deadline agreed upon between Washington and Baghdad to end the U.S. military presence in Iraq.

The Associated Press