GCC foreign ministers meet Iran in Oman on Hormuz shipping deal as Brent falls nearly 2%

Foreign ministers of the six Gulf Cooperation Council states were scheduled to meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on September 14, 2026, in the Omani coastal city of Salalah. The meeting, led by Oman, aims to build support for a temporary agreement to regulate commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Separately, the Houthi Supreme Political Council said in a statement that fighting had stopped in the provinces along the western coast of the Red Sea. After the news, Brent crude fell nearly 2.0% on the day to USD 105.57 a barrel.

This would be the first meeting between senior GCC diplomats and senior Iranian officials since the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran in February 2026. GCC members are Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman. About two weeks earlier, Tehran and Muscat said publicly that they were finalizing a temporary arrangement under which commercial vessels would enter the Strait of Hormuz through Iranian waters and exit mainly through Omani territorial waters. Omani territorial waters span the Strait of Hormuz.

The United States has made clear to mediators that it will not return to the memorandum of understanding signed by the United States and Iran in June 2026, insisting instead on a more comprehensive agreement that must cover nuclear issues. Iran maintains that even if it reaches an agreement with Oman on the strait, it will allow the strait to fully reopen only after the United States meets its conditions. Iran's conditions include lifting the blockade on its ports, restoring waivers permitting it to sell oil, and allowing it to use some of its frozen overseas assets. The June 2026 memorandum of understanding was intended to extend a 60-day ceasefire, gradually reopen the Strait of Hormuz and advance final negotiations on ending the war and Iran's nuclear program, but the two sides subsequently accused each other of violations, with some disputes stemming from differences over how commercial vessels transit. At present, there are no direct negotiations between the United States and Iran, and mediators are maintaining back-channel diplomatic contacts between the two sides. A Qatari delegation visited Tehran twice last week to push a new diplomatic proposal.

The Houthi Supreme Political Council said in its statement that fighting had stopped in the provinces along the western coast of the Red Sea, and claimed that forces previously assembled by Saudi Arabia to threaten areas of Yemen had been expelled. The Houthis called on all parties to press Saudi Arabia to stop sending additional forces and armed personnel to sensitive areas including the western Red Sea coast, in order to protect navigation safety there and avoid escalation. As of publication, Saudi Arabia had not responded. The Houthis have recently launched offensives aimed at strengthening control over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, another key global maritime trade route. Simultaneous tensions in the two strategic waterways have been an important driver of Brent crude's rise to USD 105 a barrel.

US President Donald Trump had previously said the Strait of Hormuz was open, but energy exports from Gulf countries remain severely constrained in practice, and imports passing through the waterway are likewise unable to move normally. Current diplomatic progress involves consensus from the GCC meeting in Salalah, the US attitude toward Iran's conditions, and recognition and implementation of the Houthi ceasefire statement.