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Iran and Gulf Arab states are set to meet in Oman on Monday for talks that will include discussion of the Strait of Hormuz, but the session is not expected to produce a signed agreement over the blockaded waterway, a senior Iranian official speaking to Reuters said Saturday.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the meeting was called at Oman's initiative and will serve as a forum for broader regional issues in addition to the strait dispute.
Iran has spent months negotiating with Oman, which sits on the opposite bank of the strait, over a deal to govern transport through the passage. Oman has said its negotiations carry the backing of other Arab states in the Gulf.
According to the Iranian official, Tehran is still seeking an agreement that would let it collect fees from ships passing through the strait, a proposal Oman has rejected. That disagreement remains a central sticking point in the talks.
Tehran announced Friday that it planned to attend the Monday meeting in Oman. Oman itself has not officially confirmed the gathering, and other regional states have so far stayed quiet on the matter. Bahrain said Saturday it would not take part in meetings with Iran.
The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow passage between Iran and Oman connecting the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea, is one of the world's most important oil chokepoints. Around a fifth of global oil supplies passed through it before the United States and Israel attacked Iran in February, an assault that started the ongoing war.
Global oil prices have surged over the past week after the United States and Iran each fired on tankers in the strait. Adding to the pressure on shipping routes, Iran's Houthi allies in Yemen have advanced near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, another critical corridor for oil on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula.
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