At the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow passage through which a fifth of the world's oil flows — Iran and Oman are nearing a diplomatic agreement to carve out a temporary safe corridor for commercial shipping, even as the waters around them bear the scars of active military confrontation. Since the United States and Israel launched operations against Iran in late February, the strait has ceased to function as the open artery global trade depends upon, with vessels disabled, redirected, and destroyed. The corridor being negotiated is less a resolution than a provisional shelter — an acknowledgment