Middle East — 2026-09-14

Gulf States and Iran Postpone Hormuz Strait Talks as Oman Cites Need for Regional Consensus

BLUFOman's Hormuz initiative is very unlikely to reconvene with meaningful Gulf state participation by mid-October, as GCC divisions and Iranian resistance to compulsory fees leave no diplomatic path forward.

Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi and the Oman News Agency both said the Monday meeting in Salalah on reopening the Strait of Hormuz was postponed, citing the need for consensus and "conditions conducive to constructive dialogue" 1. Iran's Fars news agency, citing a Foreign Ministry official, described the delay as a joint Tehran-Muscat decision made "at the request of some countries in the region" 2. The talks, which excluded the US 3, centered on an Omani plan, first proposed in July on a Strait of Malacca model, to split Hormuz oversight 50-50 with shipping fees 2. Iran had rejected the voluntary-fee structure, demanding compulsory payments and routes closer to its own waters instead, an unresolved sticking point ahead of the postponement 2. No Gulf state had confirmed attendance, and Bahrain had ruled out joining 1. Al Jazeera reported the postponement followed an attack hours earlier on an Iranian cargo vessel near Qeshm Island that killed one person and wounded four 2.

Analysis
A follow-on Hormuz session drawing a non-Oman Gulf state within 30 days is very unlikely: Riyadh's amendments and Bahrain's refusal to attend reflect a GCC consensus gap that will not close quickly, and Tehran still rejects the compulsory fees central to the 50-50 oversight dispute. Confidence is low, given reliance on a single primary Omani statement with no independent visibility into GCC or Tehran-Muscat deliberations. Tehran may be using the Qeshm Island attack, whether or not it directed it, as cover to stall a framework it views as conceding too much on fee compulsion rather than genuinely deferring to consensus-building, and the strike shows how exposed any rescheduled talks remain to renewed strikes in the strait. Gulf attendance materializing would signal a multilateral track letting Washington scale back tanker-escort commitments; continued absence keeps the Navy locked into open-ended convoy operations and sustains upward pressure on oil prices.

6 sources

Oman says Hormuz talks with Iran, Gulf states postponed - Arab News
Tehran and Muscat delay talks, citing regional consensus need - Al Jazeera
Iran-Gulf talks without US participation on reopening the Strait of Hormuz postponed, Omani official says - CNN
Hormuz Meeting With Iran and Gulf Nations Delayed, Oman Says - Bloomberg
In the interests of consensus the regional meeting set for tomorrow in Salalah has been postponed - Badr Albusaidi (Omani Foreign Minister) via X, corroborated by Oman News Agency statement
Regional meeting scheduled for Monday postponed - Oman Ministry of Foreign Affairs