On a grey morning off the port of Bandar Abbas on August 5th, a small vessel picked its way past the hulking silhouettes of cargo ships anchored in the Strait of Hormuz — a scene that has become, in recent weeks, an emblem of global anxiety. Roughly a fifth of the world's traded oil passes through that 33-kilometre-wide channel, and the question of when, or whether, it reopens is now being answered not by maritime authorities but by diplomats exchanging demands in musty negotiating rooms. Iran's Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, confirmed on August 9th that talks mediated by Oman were approaching what he called their final stages. Yet in the same breath he made clear that the strait's reopening is contingent on conditions that go well beyond a simple ceasefire or security guarantee.

Chief among them is compensation for war damages — a demand that immediately widened the gap between Tehran and those pressing for a swift resumption of shipping traffic. The precise figure sought by Iran has not been disclosed, but the inclusion of reparations in a navigation dispute is, by any historical measure, an unusual escalation. Oman has long served as a discreet channel between Iran and Western powers, a role it played during the nuclear negotiations of the previous decade. That quiet credibility gives the current talks at least a framework for progress.

But credibility alone cannot bridge the distance between a government seeking financial redress for wartime losses and an international community focused primarily on the unimpeded flow of energy.