Muscat: Oman announced the postponement of a regional meeting scheduled for Monday in its southern city of Salalah to discuss arrangements for a new maritime route through the Strait of Hormuz. The Omani Foreign Ministry stated late Sunday that the meeting had been postponed to a later date "to help create appropriate conditions for constructive dialogue."
According to Anadolu Agency, the decision was made with the aim of facilitating talks that could lead to sustainable understandings supporting regional security and stability, and meeting the aspirations of the region's peoples for cooperation and peace. Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi emphasized the decision on the US social media platform X, saying, "In the interests of consensus, the regional meeting set for tomorrow in Salalah has been postponed." He reiterated Oman's commitment to fostering dialogue that supports stability and lasting cooperation in the region, and accompanied his post with the flags of Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, indicating the countries expected to participate.
The postponement follows Bahrain's rejection of participation in a proposed regional ministerial meeting involving Iran. The Bahraini Foreign Ministry declared Saturday that Manama will not participate in any collective ministerial meeting with Iran before restoring diplomatic relations between the two countries. This statement was in response to reports about a proposed ministerial meeting on developments in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei announced Friday that Tehran would organize the meeting, hosted by Oman, at the foreign minister level with participation from eight countries bordering the Gulf. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated to the London-based Arabic-language news outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that the main agenda of the meeting was the new maritime route in the Strait of Hormuz. He noted that Iran and Oman had finalized an agreement on the new route, complete with maps and a joint statement detailing the arrangements, stressing that this agreement does not signify the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
The geopolitical tensions involving Bahrain and Iran have escalated previously, with Tehran targeting sites linked to US forces in Bahrain as retaliation for US strikes against Iranian targets. The US and Israel launched attacks on Iran in February, which led Tehran to retaliate against Israel and US military targets across the region. Despite the US and Iran signing the Islamabad Memorandum in June with Pakistani and Qatari mediation, its implementation stalled amid disagreements over the Strait of Hormuz. The US resumed military attacks on Iran in August, prompting Tehran to respond by striking US military assets in several Arab countries aligned with Washington.