Foreign ministers from Iran, Iraq, and Gulf Cooperation Council members minus Bahrain were scheduled to meet Monday in Salalah, Oman, to review temporary entry and exit routes for commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
Oman Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said late Sunday the meeting was postponed in the interests of consensus, without setting a new date.
Iran's foreign ministry blamed Saudi objection. Axios and CNN reported Riyadh submitted amendments because the emerging Iran-Oman wording could establish an unacceptable new status quo for the waterway.
Iran spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran will continue pursuing the bilateral agreement with Oman finalized last month and will decide with Muscat how to announce or register it.
The proposed inbound corridor runs through Iranian waters while the outbound route mostly passes through Omani waters, with voluntary tolls reportedly under discussion for navigation, environmental protection, and search-and-rescue operations.
Tehran repeated the arrangement would not mean the Strait of Hormuz has reopened. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said the same before the weekend.
Bahrain refused participation, calling the forum appeasement. Only Iraq had publicly confirmed attendance before the postponement.
The setback follows Saudi Arabia's precautionary shutdown of the 1,200-kilometre East-West oil pipeline after drone strikes originating from Iraq.
UKMTO and Iranian state media reported a vessel struck off Qeshm Island on Sunday, killing one and wounding four aboard an Iranian commercial ship.
Houthi advances along Yemen's Red Sea coast add pressure on Bab el-Mandeb as an alternative corridor while Hormuz diplomacy stalls.
BC Insight and TFI accounts put roughly 45 to 50 percent of globally traded sulfur normally transiting Hormuz, with commercial sulfur cargoes near zero since the February conflict.
For Alberta recovered sulfur on the Vancouver stem, a postponed Salalah summit keeps Middle East seaborne offline and preserves Canada's swing-supplier window.
Canadian export volumes rose in 2025 and early 2026 as Pacific terminals absorbed tonnes that would otherwise compete from Gulf load ports.
Desk read: September 14 is a diplomatic delay print, not a reopening signal. Watch whether Iran and Oman register their bilateral corridor without GCC blessing and whether Riyadh re-engages on amended language.