Iran-Gulf States Meeting Postponed at the Last Minute: “To Reach an Agreement”

[Financial News] A ministerial-level meeting involving Iran, Iraq and the Gulf states, scheduled to take place on June 14 local time in Salalah, a southern city in Oman, to discuss issues including the Strait of Hormuz, was postponed at the last minute.
Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, at around 11 p.m. on June 13, “To reach an agreement, the regional meeting scheduled to take place tomorrow in Salalah has been postponed.”
Albusaidi added, “We will continue working to promote dialogue that supports regional stability and sustained cooperation.”
However, he did not say when the meeting would be held.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported that Fars News Agency said the decision to postpone the meeting was made jointly by the governments of Iran and Oman.
Fars News Agency, citing an Iranian Foreign Ministry official, reported that the meeting was postponed at the request of some regional countries.
On June 11, Iran’s Foreign Ministry announced plans for the meeting with the Gulf states, saying, “Along with regional issues, we plan to discuss and exchange views on the outcome of Iran-Oman negotiations concerning the designation of a safe route for commercial vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz.”
However, Bahrain announced the following day that it would not attend, citing attacks by Iran on infrastructure in the Gulf region and stating, “We will not participate as a party in any meeting involving Iran until diplomatic relations with Iran are restored.”
Saudi Arabia’s attendance had also been uncertain following a recent attack on Saudi Arabia by Ansar Allah (Houthis), an Iran-aligned rebel group in Yemen. 
Earlier that day, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview with Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, a UK-based Arab media outlet whose English edition is The New Arab, that seven countries, including Gulf states but excluding Bahrain, would attend the meeting, confirming that it would go ahead.
Araghchi said the meeting’s most important—and effectively only—agenda item was “the issue of a new maritime route through the Strait of Hormuz,” adding that Iran and Oman would explain to the participating countries the details of their agreement to open a new route through the Strait of Hormuz.

[email protected] Lee Seok-woo, International Affairs Specialist Reporter