LEILA FADEL, HOST:
For more on negotiations over the Strait of Hormuz, we turn to Marc Sievers. He served as a U.S. diplomat for more than 30 years, including as U.S. ambassador to Oman from 2016 to 2019. Ambassador, good morning, and welcome to the program.
MARC SIEVERS: Good morning. Great to be on NPR.
FADEL: It's so nice to have you. So Oman is not commenting on these talks with Iran. So the only details we know are coming from Iran. Given your expertise, give us your insights into how these talks might be playing out.
SIEVERS: It's very interesting because the dialogue between Iran and Oman has been going on since the early days of the war...
FADEL: Right.
SIEVERS: ...I think, going back to March. The first Omani delegation went to Iran to talk about the Strait of Hormuz. It's interesting, as well, that the Omanis have not commented on the version of the agreement that's being put out in the Iranian media. But what I can say at this point is, from what -everything that I can see, this will not be acceptable to the United States. I don't see how it can be.
FADEL: Now, what seems interesting is the U.S. seems almost on the sidelines to these negotiations. Would Oman enter negotiations that actually cut the U.S. out entirely?
SIEVERS: Well, I'm sure there's a channel for keeping the U.S. informed of the negotiations. So - but the actual parties to the talks, as far as I can tell, have been Iran and Oman directly. So I - there's - President Trump has mentioned several times ongoing negotiations with Iran. I don't know how those are taking place. You know, there's a lot of ambiguity about all this. But again, coming back to the substance of it, the United States can't accept at least the version that's been put out in the Iranian media. At least, that's my expectation.
FADEL: Would Oman actually agree to these terms, given that their U.S. ally wouldn't? That includes the banning of U.S. and Israeli ships passing through the strait until Iran is compensated for war damages and tolls Iran says that they would charge on other ships allowed through.
SIEVERS: Again, we need to hear from the Omanis.
FADEL: Yeah.
SIEVERS: I think it would be surprising for them to play this according to the Iranian script entirely. There have been other versions put out by Oman previously, including one calling for using a narrow passage that would be neither in Omani nor Iranian territorial waters, but Iran did not accept that. And, of course, periodically, Iran has also attacked Oman, not as intensively as some of the other Gulf States, but they've been struck several times, including in the Musandam Peninsula, which borders the Strait of Hormuz. So it's an interesting process.
FADEL: I mean, the U.S. seems very eager to get out of this war and also seems unable to get out of this war. I mean, who has the leverage here when it comes to negotiations that would benefit each party? Will Iran come out of this with partial control of the Strait of Hormuz?
SIEVERS: I don't know. I think you're correct that the U.S. is looking for a way out, but it seems to me, a way out that leaves Iran in control of the Strait of Hormuz, or at least a mechanism that acknowledges Iran's ability to impose its views on who passes and who doesn't, is a tremendous setback for the United States. So I just can't see how President Trump could accept that, but who knows? I'm - you know, we're all watching this wondering what's coming next.
FADEL: You know, Oman played the role of mediator before, before this war began, and came on U.S. television saying, a deal is in place. There's a diplomatic deal. And then the U.S. and Israel attacked, and this war began. Why are they putting themselves in this position again of mediator when so often these agreements seem to just fall apart?
SIEVERS: I do think you're right. The Omanis were in a mediating role earlier on. I think the view in Washington, at least among the administration, was that they effectively disqualified themselves by appearing to side with the Iranians at the very beginning. They've been brought in, again, I think probably because of the practical aspects of, you know, the maritime passage being between them and the Iranians. And perhaps the Iranians have more confidence in Oman than they do in the Qataris and the Pakistanis. Though I don't really know.
FADEL: Former U.S. ambassador to Oman Marc Sievers. Thank you for your time and your insights.
SIEVERS: My pleasure. Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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