Salalah to host Iran-GCC Hormuz talks on Monday

Iran and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states will meet in Salalah on Monday to negotiate a temporary agreement on commercial shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.

Iran has been at war since February 28, when US-Israeli strikes killed its supreme leader. Iran retaliated with attacks across the region and blockaded the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of world oil supplies previously flowed. 
More than six months into the Middle East war, the blockade continues to drive up oil prices, which soared past $100 a barrel this week.

Oman and Iran, which both border the Strait of Hormuz, have been discussing for several weeks how the crucial waterway will be managed in the future. 
The strait was free to transit before the war, but Iran now requires vessels to obtain permission and is considering a mechanism to impose service fees. Ships that do not comply are regularly targeted by Iranian strikes, while the United States periodically bombs the Iranian coastline to challenge the Islamic republic's control of the strait.

Bahrain said on Saturday that it would not take part in a proposed meeting in Oman between Iran and Gulf states to discuss the Strait of Hormuz, which Tehran has blockaded throughout the Middle East war. 
Pointing to attacks on infrastructure across the Gulf, the ministry said that security and stability in the region 'cannot be preserved through a policy of appeasement' and called for Hormuz to be open without 'discrimination, fees or permits'.