MIDDLE East diplomacy faltered on Monday as Oman postponed a meeting between Iran and Gulf states, while attacks around the region’s two key oil transit routes heightened fears of further disruption to global energy supplies.
Reuters reported Oman’s Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi saying the meeting, which had been scheduled for Monday, was postponed “in the interests of consensus”, dealing a setback to efforts to secure arrangements for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
The postponement came as Saudi Arabia kept shut a 1,200-km east-west pipeline damaged in drone strikes on Friday, cutting a key route for exporting Middle Eastern oil while bypassing the Strait of Hormuz.
Traders and Saudi oil buyers told Reuters that Riyadh has enough crude stored at its Red Sea port of Yanbu to maintain exports for only five to seven days if the pipeline remains offline.
The pipeline disruption could jeopardise as much as 4% of global oil supply, on top of millions of barrels a day already affected by reduced traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
Saudi Arabia has not disclosed the full extent of the pipeline damage or how long repairs will take, while sources have given conflicting estimates ranging from days to weeks.
Oil prices surged above US$100 a barrel last week for the first time since July, while US diesel prices climbed above US$6.20 a gallon on Sunday to another record high.
The Strait of Hormuz remained a major security risk, with the British maritime security agency UKMTO reporting that a vessel was struck by a projectile while transiting the strait, causing a fire and forcing its crew to evacuate.
Iran separately said one person was killed and four crew members wounded aboard an Iranian commercial vessel struck off its coast.
Iranian officials had been expected to attend Monday’s regional meeting with Gulf Arab states to present an agreement with Oman on governing shipping routes through the strait.
Iranian state news agency Fars cited a foreign ministry official as saying the meeting had been postponed at the request of some regional countries in a decision jointly made by Tehran and Muscat. The official said Iran would coordinate with Oman to determine a suitable date.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in an interview with Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed that Iran would not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until the United States met Tehran’s demands, despite any agreement with Oman.
Meanwhile, Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels continued attacks on Saudi Arabia after their advance to Perim Island in the Bab el-Mandeb, the strait at the mouth of the Red Sea.
Saudi state media released footage showing damage to homes and a mosque in Jazan province following a reported cross-border Houthi attack, while the Houthis separately claimed to have struck a Saudi military base in a neighbouring province.
The Houthi advance and attacks have added pressure on Washington as it seeks to support Saudi Arabia and protect shipping without opening another front in the conflict.
Three sources told Reuters that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called US President Donald Trump on Thursday to request military aid against the Houthis, but Washington offered intelligence support for now. Trump confirmed on Saturday that he had spoken to the crown prince.
Trump, speaking during a weekend trip to Ireland, reiterated that he expected the war with Iran to end this year and said petrol prices would “drop like a rock” afterwards. - September 14, 2026
