Oman Postpones Hormuz Meeting, No New Date Set

The meeting between Iran and Gulf states on shipping rules through the Strait of Hormuz, scheduled for Monday in the Omani city of Salalah, was postponed on Sunday evening with no new date announced. Iran says some countries in the region requested the delay, and according to the Iranian side, the decision was made jointly with Oman. For Serbia, where pump prices track every swing on the world oil market, this is not just a distant regional story: a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied gas supply still moves through the Strait of Hormuz, and any fresh uncertainty around it quickly shows up in fuel prices at home.

Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi announced the postponement on Sunday evening on X, posting the flags of all eight countries that were due to take part: Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

In order to reach consensus, the regional meeting scheduled for tomorrow in Salalah has been postponed. We remain committed to fostering dialogue that supports stability and lasting cooperation in our region

Albusaidi wrote, without saying when the talks might resume.

Mohammad Ali Bak, the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s director for the Persian Gulf, confirmed the postponement to the IRNA news agency and said the meeting had been moved at the request of some countries in the region, by a joint decision of Tehran and Muscat. The Iranian official did not specify which countries had asked for the delay, according to Fars News Agency: “The meeting was postponed at the request of some countries in the region, a decision made jointly by Tehran and Muscat.”

What Was Salalah Supposed to Discuss?

The agenda covered rules for shipping and passage through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow sea lane between Iran and Oman through which most Middle Eastern tankers travel. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on Friday that Gulf states’ foreign ministers had been invited to Oman, and told Al Jazeera on Saturday that he hoped the Gulf’s top diplomats, along with Iraq’s, would attend. Delegations from Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Qatar had also been expected.

Sources differ on exactly how many countries were due at the table. China’s Xinhua news agency mentions only Iran, the Gulf states and Iraq in its report, while India’s Tribune India and The Week list all seven Gulf states, including Bahrain, alongside Iran.

Why the Talks Were Called Off

According to The Week, two events just before the meeting influenced the decision to postpone it. Drones launched from Iraqi territory struck the East-West pipeline in Saudi Arabia, which has a capacity of seven million barrels a day and lets Riyadh bypass Hormuz on the way to its Red Sea terminals; the pipeline was shut down as a result. Hours before Albusaidi’s announcement, an Iranian cargo ship was attacked near Qeshm Island, killing one person and injuring four.

The Week reports that Gulf states do not share a common position on Iran. Bahrain refused to meet with Iranian officials, citing repeated missile and drone attacks on its territory, while Saudi Arabia and Qatar were willing to attend but wary of appearing to legitimize Iran’s demands over the strait. The UAE, according to the same source, had already held preliminary talks with Tehran during the BRICS summit in New Delhi, continuing the quiet engagement Abu Dhabi has pursued for several years.

Iran’s Demands and the Price of Oil

Oman had proposed splitting management of the strait fifty-fifty, with a voluntary fee for passing ships, modeled on the Strait of Malacca, The Week reports. Iran rejected the voluntary part of the proposal, demanding a mandatory fee and a shift of shipping lanes closer to its own coast, a move the Gulf states read as an attempt by Tehran to take control of the strait rather than share it. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has previously said Iran will not reopen the strait until Washington lifts sanctions and unfreezes Iranian assets, conditions the Trump administration has rejected without concessions from Iran on the nuclear front.

Markets reacted quickly to the news. Brent crude rose 3.1 percent to $107.87 a barrel, after touching $110 at one point, while the US benchmark WTI climbed 2.8 percent to $102.87 a barrel.

What Happens Without a Meeting

Iran’s blockade of the strait, imposed after the United States and Israel struck Iran in late February, continues to disrupt roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied gas shipments. The US Central Command said it had rerouted 101 commercial ships as of September 13 through its own operation to bypass the strait. The pressure is not confined to Hormuz: Iran-backed Houthi rebels have seized the city of Mokha and Perim Island in the Bab el-Mandeb strait, opening a second front against shipping in the Red Sea just as the main strait has grown more dangerous.

President Trump has pushed to reopen Hormuz before the US midterm elections, but Iran is showing no sign of backing down for now, and neither Riyadh nor Abu Dhabi has the leverage to force a deal that neither Washington nor Tehran currently wants to make.

This portal previously reported on the announcement of this meeting in the article Iran and Gulf States to Discuss Hormuz in Oman on Monday. No new date for the talks has been set so far.