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Oman has postponed a planned meeting between Iran and Gulf states over the Strait of Hormuz, scrapping talks that had been set for Monday in the southern port city of Salalah just as tensions over the vital waterway continue to simmer.
The Oman News Agency announced the delay, saying officials had decided to push the regional meeting to a later, unspecified date. The agency said the move was intended "to create conditions conducive to a constructive dialogue," without elaborating on what those conditions might be or offering a new date for the talks.
The gathering had been billed as a significant, if early, step toward regional security cooperation. State media in Iran had reported that the meeting would represent "the first step towards establishing a regional framework for security cooperation" in the Gulf.
Ahead of the postponement, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei had framed the talks in ambitious terms, saying they would "serve as an essential cornerstone for ensuring stability and security" in the region. The remarks were carried by Iran's ISNA news agency.
The planned dialogue came against the backdrop of open conflict between Iran and the United States centered on the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow but critical shipping channel through which about one-fifth of the world's oil supply had previously moved.
Iran has blockaded the strait amid the war, and Tehran has separately been negotiating with Muscat, whose territorial waters also border the passage, over formalizing its control of the waterway, including the possibility of imposing transit fees. Before the war, the strait was open to free passage by all nations.
The conflict traces back to February 28, when Iran's supreme leader was killed in US-Israeli strikes, an event Tehran answered with retaliatory attacks across the region.
The diplomatic push had already drawn a dismissive response from Washington. Speaking to reporters during a visit to Ireland on Sunday, President Donald Trump brushed aside questions about the planned Iran-Gulf talks. "I don't care. That's up to them," he said, when asked about the Monday meeting.
It remains unclear when the Salalah talks will be rescheduled or whether the postponement reflects a substantive setback to the proposed security framework or a procedural delay.
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