Iranian official tells Al Jazeera IAEA ruling was imposed by US and Israel

A senior Iranian official has stated that a meeting with Gulf states in Oman on Monday, planned to discuss issues including the Strait of Hormuz, is unlikely to result in a signed agreement over the blockaded waterway. Iran has been negotiating with Oman for months regarding a deal that would govern transport through the strait, but Oman has long rejected the proposal and stated that its talks are supported by other Arab nations in the Gulf.

Iran announced its participation in the meeting on Friday, but Oman has not officially confirmed the event, with other regional states remaining silent. Bahrain announced on Saturday that it would not attend the meetings with Iran. The Iranian official, speaking anonymously, revealed that the meeting was initiated by Oman and would be an opportunity to discuss additional regional matters, alongside Hormuz.

Iran continues to insist on an agreement that would permit it to charge fees from ships utilizing the strait, a demand that Oman opposes. Prior to the United States and Israel's attack on Iran in February, triggering a war, approximately one-fifth of global oil supplies passed through the strait. Since then, global oil prices have risen sharply after both the United States and Iran targeted tankers in the strait, and Houthi rebels in Yemen pushed closer to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, another vital Middle Eastern passage for oil on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula.