Iran is negotiating with Oman over a joint temporary shipping corridor in the strategically important Strait of Hormuz, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said according to the state news agency IRNA on Monday.
He added that the idea was to use a circular route rather than several separate lanes until a final arrangement was reached.
The dispute over passage rights through the key route for oil, gas and fertilizer shipping is a major flashpoint in the military conflict between the US and Iran.
Under the proposed model, tankers or cargo ships would enter the Strait of Hormuz on a northern route through Iranian territorial waters. After calling at ports in Iran or in Arab Gulf states, the ships would use a southern route through Omani territorial waters for the return journey.
At its narrowest point, the Strait of Hormuz is only about 39 kilometres wide. As Iran and Oman each claim a 12-nautical-mile zone (around 22.2 kilometres), the territorial waters of both coastal states overlap. There are no international waters in this area.
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) guarantees a right of transit passage there and prohibits a blockade of merchant ships. Iran does not accept this legal position.
The planned new arrangement restricts free passage compared with the period before the start of the military conflict. Iran could, for example, control which ships from which countries enter the Strait of Hormuz. Warships could, among other things, be denied passage.
The US and Iran agreed on a framework agreement in mid-June. The agreement stated that Tehran, in coordination with the coastal states, is to reach an understanding with Oman on the future administration of the strait.