Speculation about the reason for the sudden cancellation of the Iran and regional countries meeting by Oman

Hours after the foreign minister of Oman, Badr al-Busaidi, announced the cancellation of the scheduled meeting between Iran and the countries of the Persian Gulf region, speculation about the reason for this decision—only a few hours before the meeting was due to be held—began.

Barak Ravid, a reporter for the U.S. publication Axios who has had close access in recent months to White House officials and to Donald Trump, wrote on the X platform: “A Gulf country official told me that Saudi Arabia submitted amendments to Oman and Iran’s proposal on the Strait of Hormuz; because Riyadh was concerned that the proposed text would effectively lead to the creation of a new situation and operating procedure in the Strait—one that would not be acceptable to Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf Cooperation Council member states.”

IRNA news agency, quoting Mohammad-Ali Bak, director general of the Persian Gulf at Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, wrote: “At the request of some countries in the region and as a result of a joint decision by Oman and Iran, the meeting of foreign ministers of the Gulf littoral countries that had been scheduled for Monday was postponed to another date.”