Iran and Gulf States to Meet in Salalah Monday September 14 for First Ministerial Talks on Hormuz Shipping Since February War Outbreak

Iran announced Friday that it will meet with foreign ministers from Gulf Cooperation Council states and Iraq in Salalah, Oman, on Monday September 14 to discuss security and commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei. The meeting is intended to promote better understanding among countries in the region and help strengthen shared regional security, the ministry said in a statement. Iran and Oman will present the results of bilateral negotiations on establishing safe routes for commercial shipping through the strait, including temporary shipping lanes, mine clearance, and short-term management arrangements agreed in late August. The Salalah gathering marks the first meeting between GCC and Iranian foreign ministers since the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28, according to the Financial Times, which first reported the meeting citing two sources briefed on the matter. The provisional Iran-Oman arrangement envisions vessels entering the strait through Iranian territorial waters and exiting mostly through Omani waters, but diplomats caution the strait cannot fully reopen without a broader US-Iran agreement. The meeting takes on added urgency as oil prices climbed above one hundred dollars per barrel this week, driven by attacks on Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline, the Houthi seizure of Yemen's Red Sea coast, and continued disruptions in Hormuz itself. Baghaei warned that as long as aggressive actions and illegal interventions, including US maritime blockades and economic warfare, continue, the safety of navigation in the strait cannot be guaranteed.