Oman-hosted Gulf meeting postponed as attacks heighten oil supply concerns
A regional meeting involving Iran and Gulf Arab states was postponed as attacks near key oil transit routes pushed crude prices higher.
Muscat, Oman. A regional meeting between Iran and Gulf Arab states scheduled for Monday was postponed, while attacks affecting key Middle East oil transit routes increased concerns over global energy supplies.
Oil prices rose by more than 3% on Monday after Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia and reported attacks on vessels in the Gulf.
Meeting postponed
Oman’s foreign minister, Sayyid Badr Albusaidi, said late on Sunday that the meeting had been postponed “in the interests of consensus.”
Iranian officials had said they would attend the gathering to present an agreement with Oman on governing shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz, which carried about a fifth of global oil supplies before the war.
Iran’s Fars news agency cited an Iranian foreign ministry official as saying the meeting was 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 for the meeting.
Pipeline closure and shipping attacks
The postponement followed Saudi Arabia’s decision to shut down, at least temporarily, its 1,200-kilometre east-west pipeline, which has served as the main route for Middle East oil bypassing the Strait of Hormuz.
Houthi strikes on the world’s biggest oil exporter forced the closure of the pipeline during the weekend.
The British maritime security agency UKMTO said on Sunday that a vessel moving through the Strait of Hormuz had been struck by a projectile, causing a fire and forcing the crew to evacuate.
Iran said one person was killed and four crew members were wounded aboard an Iranian commercial vessel struck off its coast.
Reduced traffic through the strait
Preliminary shiptracking data showed commodity vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz fell to single digits per day during the weekend, below a 10-day average of 14.
The figures excluded vessels that may have crossed the strait with their Automatic Identification System transponders switched off to avoid detection.
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