New Commission Formed To Define 'Definitive' Before Anyone Is Allowed To Have One
Talks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz stall as mediators agree only to convene a body tasked with deciding what counts as agreement.
After Trump waved off the seven-day proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the mediating parties announced what they called a necessary intermediate step: a standing commission whose sole responsibility is to determine what qualifies as a "definitive view" before any actual views on shipping, borders, or anything else can be submitted for consideration.
The commission's charter reportedly consists of one item, which is to draft a second charter clarifying the first. Delegates have so far agreed that a definitive view must be final, though they remain divided on whether "final" itself requires further definition, a question that has been tabled for the commission's next definitional session.
"We are close to a breakthrough on what a breakthrough would technically consist of," said a commission spokesperson, who then adjourned to attend a preparatory meeting about the agenda for the meeting where the agenda would be set.
Iran's foreign ministry has welcomed the commission in principle, while noting that Tehran cannot offer a position on the commission until the commission has finished defining what a position is. Mediators say a resolution is expected shortly after the concept of expectation is finalized.
Shipping companies awaiting word on the Strait have been told to stand by indefinitely, as the commission is not yet in a position to say what standing by would definitively mean.