Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said the meeting took place during a visit to Muscat, where officials reviewed current issues concerning the strategic waterway and exchanged views on its future administration.

“During a trip to Muscat, the first meeting of the Joint Hormuz Committee was held,” Gharibabadi said in a post on X, adding that both sides discussed the future management of the strait. He did not specify when the meeting took place.

The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow maritime passage approximately 30 kilometers (18 miles) wide between Iran and Oman, is one of the world’s most critical energy transit routes, carrying a significant share of global oil and liquefied natural gas exports.

The future governance of the waterway has emerged as a key issue in negotiations between Iran and the United States following the recent conflict, during which Tehran temporarily blockaded the strait.

Iran is considering introducing maritime service fees that did not exist before the conflict, while the United States has opposed any charges, arguing that the strait constitutes an international waterway.

Last week, Iran and Oman issued a joint statement saying they were examining future management arrangements and associated operational costs for the strait. Days later, Oman clarified that no passage fees were planned and announced a temporary maritime corridor near its coastline coordinated with the United Nations.

Iran subsequently maintained that the only authorized navigation route remained a corridor adjacent to its own coastline.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned on Sunday that attempts to establish alternative shipping routes could increase regional tensions.

The latest discussions stem from a memorandum of understanding reached between Tehran and Washington, which calls for Iran to engage with Oman and other Gulf littoral states to determine the future administration and maritime services of the Strait of Hormuz in accordance with international law and the sovereign rights of the coastal states.

The memorandum also provides for toll-free passage through the strait for 60 days following the signing of the agreement. Arrangements beyond that period have yet to be determined.

The reduction marks a gradual easing in the number of ships affected by disruptions in one of the world’s most critical maritime trade corridors, although Japanese shipping companies remain cautious about resuming normal operations through the Strait.

A spokesperson for the association said on Monday that shipping firms would independently determine when to restart transits through the waterway after confirming safe passage conditions, including assurances that no mines are present.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on X on Friday that a vessel carrying three Japanese crew members had exited the Gulf and was heading to Japan. The vessel was not identified. Its departure means all 24 Japanese crew members who were in the Gulf when the conflict began have now left the region.

The association said Japan is advocating for international organizations, including the International Maritime Organization, to take the lead in developing fair and coordinated procedures to facilitate the orderly departure of vessels still stranded in the Gulf.

The immediate focus remains ensuring the safe movement of ships currently trapped in the area, the spokesperson said, adding that there are no plans at present for vessels to transit the Strait of Hormuz to load cargo.

Shipping activity through the strategic waterway declined sharply on Sunday after Iran announced it had once again closed the Strait, citing what it described as Israeli and U.S. violations of an interim peace agreement, according to shipping data.

The Strait of Hormuz is a vital route for global energy exports, and disruptions to navigation through the passage are closely monitored by governments, shipping operators and energy markets worldwide.

The planned accord, expected to be signed by Nigerian President Bola Tinubu and Mohammed VI, follows the completion of preliminary technical studies for the project, also known as the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline.

Nigeria’s foreign ministry said the development was discussed during a telephone conversation last Friday between Foreign Minister Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu and Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita.

The pipeline project, first agreed roughly a decade ago, is designed to span about 6,900 kilometers along a hybrid offshore and onshore route linking Nigeria to Morocco through several West African countries.

Amina Benkhadra, head of Morocco’s state hydrocarbons and mining agency ONHYM, told Reuters last month that the project would have a maximum annual capacity of 30 billion cubic meters of gas, including around 15 billion cubic meters intended for Morocco’s domestic market and onward exports to Europe.

The initiative forms part of broader efforts by African producers to strengthen regional energy integration and capitalize on European demand for alternative gas supplies following disruptions to global energy markets in recent years.

Nigeria, Africa’s largest natural gas producer, has long sought to expand export infrastructure beyond existing liquefied natural gas facilities, while Morocco has positioned itself as a strategic energy transit hub between Africa and Europe.

The two governments also discussed expanding cooperation in fertilizer production and distribution, highlighting the sector’s role in strengthening food security across Africa, according to the Nigerian foreign ministry.

Both sides further emphasized reviving the Nigeria-Morocco Business Council to encourage trade and investment under the framework of the African Continental Free Trade Area and an existing bilateral double taxation treaty.

Regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said the drone struck a civilian minibus in Kherson, part of a continuing pattern of attacks on populated areas since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than four years ago.Hours later, another Russian attack targeted a second minibus in the city, wounding the driver, Prokudin said.

On Ukraine’s Black Sea coast, a separate Russian strike damaged port infrastructure in Odesa, though no casualties were reported.While civilian areas continued to come under fire, Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces had taken control of the village of Myropillia in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region, near the Russian border.

The battlefield claim could not be independently verified, and Ukrainian authorities did not immediately comment.The roughly 1,250-kilometer front line remains largely static despite months of fighting, with U.S.-backed diplomatic efforts failing to secure a ceasefire.

Recent international focus on the Iran war has also shifted attention away from the conflict in Ukraine.In Russia, officials in the Krasnodar region said firefighters had extinguished a blaze at an oil terminal in the Black Sea port city of Tuapse that broke out Friday following a Ukrainian strike.

Ukraine has repeatedly targeted the Tuapse refinery and export terminal in recent weeks as part of a broader campaign aimed at disrupting Russian oil exports, a major source of wartime revenue for the Kremlin.

The economic effect of those strikes remains uncertain, however, as higher global oil prices linked to the Iran war and a partial easing of U.S. sanctions have helped offset some of the pressure on Moscow’s energy revenues.