The U.S. and Oman have offered to unfreeze a portion of Iran's $100 billion in overseas assets to bypass Iranian Hormuz toll demands, but Tehran continues to reject the concessions, insisting instead on charging transit fees. Iran's control of the waterway—backed by swarms of high-precision drones and missiles—remains its greatest bargaining chip.
The deadlock persists as diplomatic talks and U.S. counterstrikes have so far failed to force Iran to relinquish its de facto command of the Strait. While the U.S. pushes for free, unhindered navigation, Iran maintains that no ships can transit the vital energy corridor without its permission or without paying maritime management fees. Commercial traffic in the waterway has significantly decreased as a result of the ongoing standoff.
“The U.S. and Oman are looking for ways to break Iran's insistence on charging tolls for ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Their chief lever in indirect talks was a promise to unfreeze some of the $100 billion in Iranian funds held overseas.
So far, Tehran's military leaders are responding with a fresh round of threats against ships passing through one of the world's most trafficked waterways.
U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner traveled to Doha this week to talk with Qatari mediators about how to break the impasse and settle the implementation of last month's initial agreement to open the strait. Both the U.S. and Iranian teams discussed with Qatari mediators recent fighting in Lebanon, a conflict that has added another wrinkle to the process, people familiar with the discussions said.
The U.S. diplomats offered a trade-off to Iran, the people said: Relinquish its claim to control the strait and renounce toll payments in exchange for billions of dollars of unfrozen funds.
Under last month's pact with the U.S., Iran was set to get access to part of the $100 billion of its funds frozen abroad.
Iran's economy needs foreign currency amid inflation driven by years of sanctions.
Talks had initially been progressing toward the release of $6 billion held in Qatar but Iran's decision to block the strait has set back the release, the people said.
On Thursday, Iran signaled the reward wasn't enough to change its position. Upon returning from Doha, Iran's negotiator, Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, insisted Hormuz is "under Iran's command," not the U.S.'s.
Tehran's military later in the day said any ship not passing through an Iran-approved route would face an "immediate and powerful" response.
Ultimately, Iran wants to charge fees for every vessel crossing the strait in exchange for services such as security, and hopes to get the bulk of the annual $40 billion a year they could generate. The demand has been rejected by the U.S. and its Gulf neighbors.
Instead, negotiators are looking at an alternative proposal from Oman -- which has rights to the southern part of the strait. Under that plan, maritime services would be paid through a fund financed by voluntary donations, officials familiar with the talks said.
Oman has held discussions with oil and shipping companies to see if they would be ready to contribute to the fund, they said. But Iran has objected to the formula because no fees would be paid, they said. Gulf nations doubt it would work because Iran lacks sufficient equipment to properly manage the strait, the officials said.
U.S. negotiators received the proposal but had concerns with it, said a person familiar with Washington's view. Another person said the plan could still be seen as a form of toll booth benefiting Iran.” [1]
1. World News: U.S. Dangles Rewards to Open Strait, but Iran Hasn't Budged. Faucon, Benoit; Said, Summer; Ward, Alexander. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 03 July 2026: A8.
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