New Delhi, Aug. 28 -- The tanker captains who have been rerouting around the Arabian Peninsula since February finally have something to track: a seven-mile lane through the Strait of Hormuz, carved out in a deal announced on August 26 that gives Iran sovereign authority over who enters and who does not - while Iran signalled this week it will now set the conditions for any fuller reopening.

meaning vessels seeking passage must first submit to Iranian surveillance and receive Iranian permission. Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Gharibabadi was direct about the arrangement's provisional nature. "The agreed-upon transit route with Oman is a temporary route," Al Jazeera reported him saying. Oman's Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Albusaidi adde...