Gulf governments are weighing talks with Iranian officials next week on the Strait of Hormuz, according to people briefed on the effort who requested anonymity. Oman is working to assemble foreign ministers from the six‑nation GCC alongside Iran on Monday in Salalah, the southern Omani city. Tehran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Friday on Telegram that preparations are underway for a Monday session with Gulf neighbors to review outcomes from recent Tehran‑Muscat discussions over Hormuz, and that Iran and Iraq are among the participants.
The meeting remains tentative, and it's not clear if all GCC countries - among them Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman - will attend. Two people familiar said mounting hostilities involving Saudi‑backed forces and the Houthis could complicate the plan. Oman's Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond when asked for comment.
The Financial Times was the first to report the planned gathering.
Houthi forces are advancing toward stretches of coastline on the Red Sea near the Bab el‑Mandeb, raising fears they could further grip that vital shipping corridor. The group has disrupted shipping and oil markets before, and the chance it could happen again is likely a factor in Iran's calculations as it engages Arab neighbors. Bab el‑Mandeb has grown especially critical for crude flows since the Strait of Hormuz was shut, forcing Riyadh to divert barrels to export terminals in the west.
On the ground, Houthi gains in Yemen have coincided with continued missile and drone launches into southwestern Saudi Arabia that have damaged energy infrastructure, heightening the risk the kingdom gets pulled deeper into the conflict and straining ties with Iran. References for regional oil bypass routes commonly cite the US Central Intelligence Agency and the US Department of Energy.
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Tehran insists on keeping its grip on Hormuz and has held weeks of talks with Oman on a framework to govern maritime traffic. That framework would likely include charging fees - a red line for both Washington and Gulf capitals - and it is unclear whether GCC members would accept any temporary arrangement aimed at reviving traffic. The broader backdrop is a low‑intensity, drawn‑out confrontation over Hormuz.
After the United States and Israel started bombing Iran in late February, the waterway was, for all intents, shut, and Washington has relied on a naval blockade to pressure Tehran to reopen passage. Bloomberg has reported that both sides are preparing for the conflict to stretch for months, with neither willing to make concessions that would restart peace talks. More vessels have navigated Hormuz over the past two months, but mostly under the cover of night, with US military protection and transponders switched off - and they have regularly faced Iranian missiles and drones.
US operations are squeezing Iran's economy, with the rial sliding and inflation nearing 90%. Iran's leaders indicate they won't back down over the strait or resume talks until President Donald Trump ends the blockade, and they plan to continue hitting back over US strikes on its vessels and land.
Energy markets are reacting. Crude has surged this week as hopes fade for a quick end to the US‑Iran war. Across the United States, the price of diesel crossed above the $6-per-gallon threshold for the first time, heightening the chance of another inflation flare‑up before November's midterms.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE have shifted a large share of exports through pipelines that bypass Hormuz, but the de facto closure is still weighing on regional economies and putting off some investors and tourists. This week, Qatar reported its largest quarterly fiscal deficit in nearly a decade, while Saudi Arabia's economy shrank in the same period.
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