Plans for Gulf countries and Iran to discuss shipping through the Strait of Hormuz fell apart on Monday, sending oil prices to their highest level in about four months. Brent crude crossed $107 a barrel in morning trading, up roughly $3 from Friday's close.
A meeting delayed 'in the interests of consensus'
Oman's foreign minister, Badr Albusaidi, said on X that a meeting set for Monday in the southern city of Salalah had been postponed. The session was meant to brief regional countries on talks between Iran and Oman about temporary arrangements for shipping through the strait, which remains largely closed to normal commercial traffic.
"In the interests of consensus," Albusaidi wrote, adding that Oman remains committed to dialogue, stability and long-term cooperation in the region. Iran's foreign ministry said Saudi Arabia had asked for the delay because of recent events in Yemen.
Attacks continue at sea
The diplomatic pause did not stop the fighting. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said a vessel was struck by an unknown projectile while transiting Hormuz early on Sunday. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Monday that it had intercepted and destroyed an advanced MQ-1 drone flying over the strait. The United States says its forces are working to clear traffic through the waterway.
The wider war is now more than six months old. It began on February 28, when President Donald Trump announced major combat operations against Iran. Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline, which lets the kingdom move crude to the Red Sea without passing Hormuz, has been shut since attacks last week. Iran's foreign minister denied any involvement in that strike.
Why prices keep climbing
Add the Houthi advance along Yemen's Red Sea coast, and two of the world's main energy routes are under pressure at once. Diesel in the United States hit a record $6 a gallon earlier this month, and shipping companies are weighing longer voyages around the Cape of Good Hope.
Analysts see little reason for relief soon. "With no one in a hurry to talk, it seems that oil prices will continue to rise, and a return to March's highs seems to be a matter of when, not if," said one market strategist quoted by Al Jazeera.
UN officials have warned that renewed fighting in Yemen ends a stretch of relative calm and could displace more civilians.