The meeting on the Strait of Hormuz that Oman was to convene on Monday has been called off at Saudi Arabia’s request, Iran says (Express Tribune).
What Iran said
Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei: “The report that Saudi Arabia requested that the meeting not be held for now is correct.”
He added that the bilateral understanding stands: “The Iran-Oman understanding has been finalised despite the cancellation of the meeting.” Tehran and Muscat will consult on a new date and on how to “announce or register this understanding”.
Oman’s foreign minister described the postponement as being “in the interests of consensus”.
What the proposal was
An Iran-Oman agreement governing shipping through the strait and defining the two countries’ roles as coastal states, to be presented to the region.
Why Saudi Arabia might have balked
The reporting does not say, and neither government has explained. What is on the record is the context: drone strikes have damaged Saudi Arabia’s east-west pipeline, a 1,200km line that normally carries about four million barrels a day to the Red Sea — the route that exists to bypass Hormuz.
A country whose bypass has just been hit has an obvious reason not to endorse an arrangement that formalises the role of the state controlling the strait.
What this does to the market story
The KSE-100 rose 1,646.81 points on Friday on reports of these talks. This newspaper wrote then that the market had moved on reports of talks rather than an agreement, and that “a rally on a headline is reversible by a headline”.
Since then: Bahrain refused to attend, a merchant vessel was struck off Qeshm, Saudi Arabia asked for the meeting to be dropped, and Brent has reached $107.82.
What is not established
Saudi Arabia has not publicly confirmed making the request, and no reason has been given. No new date has been set, and the content of the Iran-Oman understanding has not been published.
[Image: Anadolu Agency via The Express Tribune]
