Agencies
Gulf foreign ministers plan to meet their Iranian counterpart in a push by Oman and Iran to secure buy-in for a temporary deal to manage shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Friday.
The gathering is scheduled to be held on Monday Salalah, the report said, citing two people briefed on the matter.
The FT reported that Gulf foreign ministers plan to meet their Iranian counterpart in a push by Oman and Iran to secure buy-in for a deal temporarily managing shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, as regional states seek a pathway to ease hostilities over the waterway.
'The gathering, an Omani initiative, would be the first meeting between the top diplomats from the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council and a senior Iranian official since the US and Israel launched the war against the Islamic republic in February,' the FT report said.
It is scheduled to be held on Monday in of Salalah, according to two people briefed on the matter. One of the people said the details were not finalized, but that a number of states had confirmed, and it was expected to go ahead, the FT said.
'Tehran and Muscat said just over two weeks ago that they were finalising a temporary agreement under which vessels would enter the strait through Iranian waters and exit mostly through Omani territory. However, diplomats caution that for the strait to fully reopen, the US and Iran would have to agree to a deal.'
If the meeting took place, it would underline the sense of urgency in the region on the need to try and reopen the Strait of Hormuz and de-escalate hostilities between the US and Iran, which continue to battle over the vital artery for global energy exports, the FT said.
It also suggests that Gulf States want to reduce tensions with Tehran after Iranian forces fired barrages of missiles and drones at their Arab neighbours in retaliation for the US-Israeli bombardment, a recognition of the fact they have to manage relations if the region is to return to any semblance of stability, the report said.
“For Iran and Oman it is about getting the GCC on board to try and use that to get the US to lift its blockade on Iranian ports,” said one of the people briefed on the matter. GCC states, meanwhile, want to ensure that “whatever is agreed is temporary and they are able to get ships in and out”.
The last time Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi attended a GCC gathering was October 2024 in Doha, the report said.
'An interim deal on the strait — intended to last until Iran agrees to the future status of the chokepoint with its Gulf neighbours — had been viewed as a possible pathway to ease the US-Iranian hostilities over the waterway,' the FT said.