Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi says Iran and Gulf countries will hold a meeting in Oman on Monday over the Strait of Hormuz.

Mr Araghchi, who spoke to London-based Arabic-language news outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, said the meeting would be held in the Omani city of Salalah with the participation of Iran, Iraq and five Gulf countries.

He stated that eight countries would participate in the meeting, adding that Bahrain decided not to participate in the gathering.

“The main, and indeed the only, agenda of this meeting is the new maritime route in the Strait of Hormuz,” Mr Araghchi said.

He said Tehran and Muscat had finalised an agreement on establishing the new maritime route and prepared maps and a joint statement outlining the arrangements.

He added that the seven participating countries would be briefed on the agreement, related maps, joint statement and thereafter submit documents to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) for registration.

He noted that the agreement with Oman “by no means” signified the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

According to Mr Araghchi, Iran’s condition for reopening the strait is for the US to return to its commitments under the Islamabad memorandum of understanding.

“If the US returns to the commitments it accepted and signed in the Islamabad understanding and acts accordingly, the conditions will be created for the situation in the Strait of Hormuz to return to normal,” he said.

He added that Tehran believed that responsibility for ensuring security and stability in the region rested solely with regional countries.

Mr Araghchi noted that Monday’s gathering was not aimed at establishing a new regional security mechanism.

He noted tha its agenda was limited to the new maritime arrangements in the Strait of Hormuz.