Gulf meeting on Strait of Hormuz postponed after Saudi request, Iran says

Iranian officials said that a planned meeting between Iran and Gulf Arab states in Oman on Monday to discuss arrangements for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has been postponed at Saudi Arabia’s request, as tensions continue to disrupt traffic through the strategic waterway.

Iran’s state media quoted Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei as saying Saudi Arabia had asked for the delay. He said the meeting had been intended to discuss an Iran-Oman roadmap for safe shipping through the strait.

Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi separately confirmed the postponement, saying the meeting was delayed “in the interests of consensus”. Oman was committed to dialog that fosters regional stability and cooperation,” he said.

The meeting had been perceived as a potential diplomatic gesture to ease tensions in and around the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of global oil supplies had passed before the current conflict, Reuters reported.

Iran has cut sharply the volume of shipping through the strait as it faces off with the United States, and attacks on vessels and energy infrastructure elsewhere in the region have raised concerns about global supplies.

That postponement came in the midst of rising oil prices and increasing risks to shipping in the region. No new date for the meeting was immediately set.

The move is a blow to attempts by Oman and Iran to establish a framework to manage maritime traffic through the strategic waterway.