Iran, Gulf Powers Negotiate Strait of Hormuz Deal Amid Regional Realignment

At one of the world's most consequential chokepoints, the Strait of Hormuz, the ancient contest between sovereignty and commerce is playing out in real time. Iran and Oman edge toward a framework that might reopen the waterway, even as a new trilateral defense pact among Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey reshapes the region's security geometry. The human cost accumulates quietly — in Marib, in the West Bank, in Lebanese border towns — while tankers wait at anchor and the global oil market holds its breath. History rarely resolves such moments cleanly; it tends instead to layer new arrangement