UPDATE — this extends our earlier coverage: Oman Brokers Hormuz Corridor Talks as Iran Insists Strait Stays Closed

Oman had been mediating talks over reopening a shipping corridor through the Strait of Hormuz, while Iran publicly insisted the strait would stay shut.

Tehran is drafting a list of conditions under which it would reopen the strait, according to The Independent. The shift comes as Donald Trump has ordered another US warship to the Middle East, the same report says.

Regional powers are separately searching for an off-ramp to end the wider Iran-US confrontation, according to ABC News.

Hypothesis: Tehran now calculates that a closed strait costs it more than the leverage it buys — otherwise it would not be writing conditions instead of repeating a flat refusal. Supporting this: the pivot coincides with regional mediators actively pushing for a resolution. Against it: no details of Iran's actual conditions have surfaced yet, so this could just as easily be a stalling tactic timed to the next US warship's arrival.

Why it matters: the Strait of Hormuz is the only sea route in or out of the Gulf, and its closure during the standoff has already rattled oil markets. Whether Iran's conditions turn out to be workable — or whether Washington keeps adding warships regardless — will decide if this is de-escalation or a new phase of brinkmanship.

What to watch: whether Tehran publishes the actual conditions, and whether Oman's mediation or the fresh US deployment shapes them first.