Oman warns of possible naval mine sighted in the Strait of Hormuz

Omani authorities have warned of the presence of a floating object suspected of being a naval mine in the Strait of Hormuz.

The warning was issued by the country's Maritime Security Center, which advised sailors, fishermen and vessels to exercise maximum caution when sailing through the region.

According to a statement published by the agency on the social network X, the object was spotted west of the Coastal Traffic Zone of the Strait of Hormuz, within Omani territorial waters.

"Due to the sighting of a floating object suspected of being a naval mine west of the Coastal Traffic Zone in the Strait of Hormuz", the Maritime Safety Center has advised that all users of the maritime area must exercise extra caution during navigation.

The agency also recommended that vessels maintain a safe distance from any object considered suspicious and immediately notify the competent authorities if they identify similar situations.

The alert was issued a few days after the United States Armed Forces reported that they had carried out attacks against mine-laying vessels in the vicinity of southern Iran. The action took place on Monday (25).

On Friday (29), the President of the United States, Donald Trump, included the issue of mines in the Strait of Hormuz among the demands presented to Iran as part of a possible understanding to end the conflict in the region.

In a post on social media, Trump stated that Iran "must agree that it will never have a nuclear weapon or bomb", that the "Strait of Hormuz must be immediately opened" without tolls or restrictions on navigation and that mines placed in the waterway must be "eliminated".

In addition, the American president suggested that the United States blockade of Iranian ports could be lifted under a memorandum of understanding being negotiated through mediators.

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The statements were criticized by Mohsen Rezaie, advisor to Iran's supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei.

"As predicted, the president of the United States is betraying diplomacy for the third time," he said.

The advisor also accused Washington of acting in a manner incompatible with the negotiation process.

"By maintaining the naval blockade and making excessive demands in the negotiations, he has proven once again that he is not inclined to negotiate and that he is pursuing other objectives", wrote Rezaie on the social network X.

Despite the criticism, members of the Iranian negotiating team stated that dialogue between the two countries remains ongoing. According to Saeed Ajorloo, there are still differences, but talks continue.

"Negotiations with the US are ongoing and there are still small differences", he emphasized.

Ajorloo added that, if the final text is approved, a 60-day period of discussions on the details of the agreement will begin.

"If the final text is approved, we will begin a 60-day dialogue on the details," he shared in a television interview republished by Iran's chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagheri Ghalibaf.

Amid tensions involving navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, the PGSA (Persian Gulf Strait Authority) declared that it will continue its activities normally after being included in the United States Treasury Department's sanctions list.

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On Wednesday (27), the American government stated that the creation of the authority represented a new attempt by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to "monetize its campaign of state-sponsored terrorism by extorting vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz."

In response, the PGSA condemned the measure and declared: "You have not been able to control the Strait of Hormuz through war and diplomacy, and you will not be able to control it through sanctions either."

The authority even published on social media that being the target of sanctions by the United States is "a sign of its own positive performance" and said it will soon release statistics on its first month of operations.

With information from CNN Internacional

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Source: CNN