10 million ago Tehran says talks between Iran and Oman over Strait of Hormuz are in ‘final stages’ Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday that negotiations with Oman over the future of the Strait of Hormuz had reached the “final stage.” The agreement between Iran and Oman for a temporary safe route in the Strait of Hormuz will be registered with the International Maritime Organization.” Throughout the talks, both sides have floated the possibility of charging fees to ships transiting the waterway, a notion that has irritated the U.S. government. A senior Emirati official appeared to extend an olive branch to Iran on Monday, saying restoring trust with Tehran would be difficult but necessary. Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the president of the United Arab Emirates, also said that the Persian Gulf countries had not responded in a united manner to Iran’s attacks and threats during the US-Iran war, and that each country defended itself but did not adopt a shared strategy. “Geography leaves us no alternative to compromise, but we must distinguish clearly between rebuilding a necessary and functional relationship with Iran and rebuilding trust that has been broken. The first thing is necessary. The second will be much more difficult,” Gargash said at the Hili Forum in Abu Dhabi. CBS/AFP 5:31 AM Iran warns South Korea against deploying military forces alongside the US. Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Monday warned South Korea not to deploy military assets or otherwise become involved in US operations in and around the Strait of Hormuz, saying such a move would have “serious consequences.” On Friday, the South Korean government said it would consider participating in operations “Any military deployment or participation in operations by other countries in the Persian Gulf or the Strait of Hormuz can only be considered direct support for the party responsible for that aggression and will have serious consequences,” he said in a publication on X. 3:41 AM Tehran says it will announce a new “exclusion zone” in the Strait of Hormuz The new head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said Tehran plans to announce an “exclusion zone” outside Mohsen Rezaei’s comments to Iran’s state broadcaster came with few details, a day after the United States attacked three Iranian oil tankers in response to Tehran’s launch of ballistic missiles at American warships The new zone should be announced in the coming days and weeks and “will start from the line of the US naval blockade, it will extend. towards the Strait of Hormuz and from this side it will continue towards the Persian Gulf,” Rezaei said without providing further details. CBS/AP 3:40 AM Oil price rises, as regular gas averages almost a dollar higher than on Labor Day last year The price of Brent crude, the international standard for oil, added another 67 cents, reaching $96.95 a barrel. The average price of regular gasoline was $4.14 a gallon before the holiday, almost a dollar higher than last year and well above the Labor Day weekend record of $3.82 in 2012, according to motor club AAA Prices soared after the United States and Israel attacked Iran in February and have not stabilized since then Crude oil traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has plummeted and Iran has refused to reopen the waterway 3:40 AM Iran threatens a response. ‘intense’ and ‘painful’ response to US attacks on oil tankers Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf threatened on Sunday to launch faster and more forceful responses to US attacks, after Tehran attacked US warships in retaliation for US attacks on oil tankers. “Americans must have understood that the era of proportionate responses has come to an end,” Ghalibaf said in a speech carried by state media, adding that “Any aggression against Iran’s interests and security will be met with a faster, more intense and more painful response.” US Central Command said Saturday that it had “permanently disabled” three Iranian tankers in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. “Let the message to the IRGC be clear: if you fire on two of our ships, we will impose an even greater economic cost: eliminating three of yours,” Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of CENTCOM, said in a statement. “We will not hesitate to defend US forces and, if necessary, destroy Iran’s limited and exposed oil fleet.”
