Iran-Gulf Talks on Hormuz Postponed as Saudi Pipeline Shutdown Rattles Oil Markets
A planned Iran-Gulf meeting on the Strait of Hormuz was postponed, Saudi Arabia shut its East-West pipeline after attacks, and oil prices surged.
Diplomatic efforts to ease tensions around the Strait of Hormuz stalled on Sunday after a proposed regional meeting between Iran and other Persian Gulf powers was postponed, with fresh attacks near the region's key oil transit routes compounding concerns over global energy supplies.
Oman's Foreign Minister, Sayyid Badr Albusaidi, said late on Sunday that the gathering, which had been scheduled for Monday, was being pushed back "in the interests of consensus." The decision dampened hopes for a near-term diplomatic breakthrough.
The postponement followed Saudi Arabia's move to halt operations on its East-West pipeline, a critical route for Middle East crude that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz. Riyadh described the shutdown, announced late on Friday, as a precautionary measure taken after attacks the previous day. No timeline has been given for resuming operations.
The disruption rippled through energy markets. Brent crude climbed as much as 3.6 per cent to trade above $108 a barrel before easing, while West Texas Intermediate hovered near $103. Oil has rallied by more than three-quarters this year as the US-Iran conflict has spread across the region, curbing exports and throwing shipping markets into disarray. Renewed buying interest from China, the world's largest crude importer, has added further upward pressure on prices.
Separately, US President Donald Trump dismissed a report that Iran had obtained Chinese satellite imagery of a base in Jordan ahead of an attack in July that killed three American troops. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump downplayed the allegation, saying, "They basically do what we do," and adding that espionage is a two-way street. His remarks came ahead of a scheduled meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month.
In another sign of deteriorating relations between Tehran and the West, Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation chief, Mohammad Eslami, is unlikely to attend the annual gathering of the UN nuclear watchdog's member nations in Vienna. Eslami is barred from international travel, making his absence from the IAEA General Conference a notable first in years. The United States and Iran have resumed intermittent fighting since a fragile ceasefire collapsed in July.