Gulf envoys race to reopen Strait of Hormuz as Iran and US stay at war

KUALA LUMPUR, 27 AUGUST 2026 —

Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani will travel to Tehran on Thursday for talks with Iranian officials aimed at easing tensions and restoring dialogue between Tehran and Washington.

The visit follows separate high-level meetings in Tehran this week. Pakistan’s army chief General Asim Munir met President Masoud Pezeshkian, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Supreme National Security Council secretary General Mohsen Rezaei on Monday. Oman’s foreign minister Badr Albusaidi met his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi on Tuesday to discuss joint management of the strait.

On the same day, Iran and Oman agreed to a temporary shipping route through Iranian waters that would give Tehran partial control over exit routes, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said. Iran said the strait will not reopen until the US lifts sanctions and unfreezes Iranian assets.

Washington has responded by increasing economic pressure. On Monday, the US imposed new sanctions on more than 60 individuals and organisations across digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping, targeting entities in Malaysia and eight other countries. The measures follow the US declaration that all sea-mines in the strait have been removed, though experts warn some may remain.

The renewed diplomacy comes as the US prepares to restore diplomatic staff to embassies in Jordan, Israel and Oman next week after earlier evacuations following strikes by the US and Israel on Iran in late February. Posts in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Lebanon will operate at 85 percent capacity, while missions in Iraq, Kuwait and Bahrain will be limited to 75 percent.

Analysts see the staff returns and shipping route talks as signs of reduced risk of further military escalation, despite continued hardline rhetoric. US President Donald Trump told Al Jazeera on Wednesday he is “in no hurry” to resume talks with Iran, reiterating that both economic and military pressure remain effective.

Iran’s foreign minister condemned the new sanctions as “state and economic terrorism” in a letter to the UN and urged member states not to implement them. Iran’s president has called for ending the war from a position of strength, while Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei retains ultimate authority and hardliners accuse the government of conceding in June’s failed MoU.

International Crisis Group analyst Ali Vaez said the combination of sanctions and military blockade risks triggering a “financial apocalypse” in Iran, raising the question of whether the campaign aims to collapse the regime or extract concessions.