Planned multilateral talks in Oman on navigation through the Strait of Hormuz have been postponed just hours before they were due to begin, amid an escalating cycle of violence in the strategic waterway that links the Gulf with the Arabian Sea. Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi announced on Sunday that the meeting, scheduled for Monday in Muscat, had been delayed "in the interests of consensus," adding that Oman remained "committed to fostering dialogue that supports stability and lasting cooperation." An Iranian foreign ministry official confirmed that the postponement came "at the request of some countries in the region" and was a joint decision by Tehran and Muscat.

The talks had been expected to bring together the foreign ministers of Gulf littoral states, Iran, and Iraq to discuss the results of intensive Iran-Oman consultations on designating safe shipping routes through the strait. Iranian officials said the two countries had reached a technical understanding under which the entry route into the strait falls within Iranian territorial waters, with part of the exit route also under Iranian jurisdiction. A source close to Iran's negotiating team stressed that the arrangement did not amount to a reopening of the waterway, which Tehran has restricted since US and Israeli strikes on Iran on 28 February. Iran has set seven conditions for full reopening, making any resumption of normal traffic contingent on changes in US behaviour.

The postponement was announced hours after an Iranian commercial cargo vessel was struck near Qeshm Island — the largest island in the Strait of Hormuz, roughly 22 kilometres from the port city of Bandar Abbas — killing one person and wounding four others. Iranian authorities, including the governor of Qeshm, attributed the attack to what they called the "US terrorist enemy." The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency independently confirmed that a vessel had been hit by an unknown projectile in the strait, reporting that a severe fire broke out and that local authorities were evacuating those on board. When asked directly whether the US had struck the vessel, President Donald Trump said only, "I don't want to say."

The Strait of Hormuz has become a central flashpoint since the conflict began. Before hostilities, roughly one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas supplies transited the waterway from Gulf producers. Oman, which sits on the strait's southern shore and has spent decades cultivating a role as a trusted intermediary with Tehran, had proposed in July a joint mechanism that would split control of the strait equally and introduce voluntary fees for shipping vessels — a model similar to arrangements governing the Strait of Malacca in Southeast Asia. Iran rejected voluntary fees, insisting on compulsory payments, and has pushed for vessels to use routes closer to the Iranian coast, targeting ships that travel along the southern shore.

The broader diplomatic picture remains deeply uncertain. Trump claimed on Sunday, speaking from his golf course in Doonbeg, Ireland, that Iran "wants to make a deal so bad" and is "calling constantly" — an assessment flatly at odds with the tone coming from Tehran. President Masoud Pezeshkian declared hours earlier that "Iran won't surrender." With talks now delayed and violence in the strait continuing, the path toward a negotiated settlement over one of the world's most critical energy corridors remains elusive.