(AL-JAZEERA) Iran’s foreign minister says negotiations with Oman on the Strait of Hormuz are entering their “final stages”, as Tehran insists the vital waterway will never return to its pre-war status.

In a post on Telegram on Sunday, Abbas Araghchi said that in a report he presented to the cabinet, he described the negotiations between Tehran and Muscat as “on the way to being finalized.”

“We are now going to reach an understanding on a route acceptable to both sides, neither the northern route nor the southern route but one that respects the sovereign rights of both sides and safeguards our national interests and security,” Baghaei said in an interview with state television.