Gulf countries have postponed talks with Iran regarding control of the Strait of Hormuz

Foreign ministers from the Persian Gulf states have postponed an important meeting with Iranian representatives on the management of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. The reason was a lack of consensus, which has slowed regional efforts to de-escalate tensions surrounding this strategically important waterway, according to the Financial Times (FT).

The talks in question were scheduled to take place on September 14 in Oman. It was expected that Iran and its Arab neighbors would discuss an agreement between Tehran and Muscat on temporary arrangements for regulating shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Esmail Baghai, a spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, announced last week that such a deal would be concluded soon.

However, on Sunday—just a few hours before the talks were scheduled to begin—Omani Foreign Minister Badr Al-Busaidi posted on X that “in the interest of reaching a consensus, the regional meeting scheduled for tomorrow in [the Omani city of] Salalah, has been postponed.” “We remain committed to fostering dialogue that promotes stability and long-term cooperation in our region,” he added, without providing details about the cancellation of the talks. The Omani official also did not specify a date for the possible rescheduling of the meeting.

The talks were to be the first of their kind in nearly two years for high-ranking diplomats from the six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)—Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, and Bahrain—with their Iranian counterparts.

Oil prices rose by more than 3% at the start of trading on September 14 following the cancellation of a regional meeting in Oman; the price of Brent jumped above $108 per barrel, but the rally then slowed slightly—at the time of publication, Brent and U.S. WTI contracts were up about 2% from the previous close, trading at $106.80 and $102 per barrel, respectively.

The meeting was canceled amid new strikes by the Iran-backed Yemeni Houthis against Saudi Arabia and Iranian attacks on ships in the Persian Gulf, Reuters reports. Last week, due to the attacks, Riyadh was forced to shut down a key Saudi oil pipeline, which served as a bypass route for oil shipments from Saudi Arabia when shipping through the Strait of Hormuz was disrupted. In addition, another vessel was attacked by an unidentified projectile in the Strait of Hormuz this weekend, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO). The incident caused a fire on board the vessel.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor