{"text":[[{"start":11.9,"text":"Gulf states have postponed a crunch meeting with Iran on the management of the Strait of Hormuz because of a lack of consensus, setting back regional efforts to de-escalate hostilities over the vital waterway. "}],[{"start":25.3,"text":"The meeting of foreign ministers had been scheduled for Monday in Oman, where Iran and its Arab neighbours were expected to discuss a deal between Tehran and Muscat to temporarily manage shipping through the strait. "}],[{"start":37.55,"text":"Iran has throttled shipping through the waterway since the US and Israel launched their war against the Islamic republic in February, turning it into a main battleground in the conflict. Oil prices climbed after the delay was announced."}],[{"start":51.3,"text":"Oman’s foreign minister, Badr Albusaidi, said that in “the interests of consensus the regional meeting set for tomorrow in Salalah has been postponed”. "}],[{"start":60.949999999999996,"text":"“We remain committed to fostering dialogue that supports stability and lasting co-operation in our region,” he wrote in a post on X. "}],[{"start":69.89999999999999,"text":"He gave no further details. The meeting would have been the first time top diplomats from the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council — Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain — had sat down as a group with their Iranian counterpart in almost two years."}],[{"start":88.04999999999998,"text":"Iraq was also expected to attend. But Bahrain, which holds the rotating GCC presidency and has been among the Gulf states hardest hit by Iran’s retaliatory attacks, said on Saturday that it would not take part. "}],[{"start":101.14999999999998,"text":"The postponement also comes as Saudi Arabia faces a brewing crisis after a drone attack on Thursday from Iraq — where Iranian-backed Shia militias are active — forced it to close a pipeline running from its oil-rich east to its west coast. The pipeline has become vital for Saudi oil exports since Iran shuttered traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. "}],[{"start":123.84999999999998,"text":"Iranian-backed Houthis rebels in Yemen also launched waves of missiles and drones at Saudi energy infrastructure in the kingdom’s south last week amid renewed fighting in Yemen’s more than decade-long civil war. "}],[{"start":136.95,"text":"The rebels have advanced south along Yemen’s Red Sea coast, pushing back Yemeni forces aligned to the government and supported by Saudi Arabia, to strengthen their grip on the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, another waterway crucial to international shipping."}],[{"start":153.7,"text":"Mohammad Ali Bek, a senior official at Iran’s foreign ministry, said the meeting had been postponed at the request of regional countries. "}],[{"start":162.25,"text":"“The Islamic Republic of Iran, in close consultation with Oman, will make the necessary arrangements regarding an appropriate time to hold the meeting,” he added, according to the official news agency IRNA."}],[{"start":174.05,"text":"Oman and Iran had hoped that the meeting, an Omani initiative, would secure regional backing for their temporary agreement to manage shipping through Hormuz, under which vessels would enter the strait through Iranian waters and exit mostly through Omani territory. "}],[{"start":188.25,"text":"Muscat and Tehran have spent weeks negotiating the agreement. However, diplomats had cautioned that for the strait — through which a fifth of the world’s oil and gas passed before the war — to fully reopen, the US and Iran would also have to reach a deal."}],[{"start":204.05,"text":"Iranian officials have warned that as long as the US maintains its naval blockade on the republic’s ports, the security of shipping through the strait will not be guaranteed. "}],[{"start":213,"text":"Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, rose 3.5 per cent to more than $108 a barrel as trading opened in Asia on Monday following the postponement of talks. It later gave up some of its gains."}],[{"start":227.1,"text":"Renewed concerns over supplies from the region caused prices to surge past $100 last week to their highest level since May following the attacks on Saudi infrastructure."}],[{"start":237.35,"text":"An interim deal on the strait — intended to last until Iran and its Gulf neighbours agree on the future status of the chokepoint — had been viewed as a possible route to ease the US-Iranian hostilities over the waterway. "}],[{"start":250.2,"text":"It was initially hoped that an Iranian-Omani agreement could be a path back to the shortlived memorandum of understanding signed by Iran and the US in June. "}],[{"start":260.59999999999997,"text":"The MoU was intended to extend a ceasefire by 60 days, gradually reopen the strait and lead to talks on a final settlement to end the war, including a deal on Iran’s nuclear programme. "}],[{"start":273.24999999999994,"text":"But Tehran and Washington accused each other of violating the agreement, in part because of a dispute over how ships should transit the strait — Iran’s main source of leverage — triggering a cycle of escalating tit-for-tat strikes. "}],[{"start":286.79999999999995,"text":"The US has told mediators that it will not return to the MoU and will only agree to a more comprehensive deal that also covers an element of the nuclear file. "}],[{"start":296.04999999999995,"text":"Iran, meanwhile, has insisted that even if it finalises an agreement with Oman, it will fully reopen the strait only if the US meets its conditions. These include lifting the blockade on Iranian ports, reinstating a waiver to allow it to sell oil and giving it access to some of its assets frozen overseas. "}],[{"start":312.34999999999997,"text":"While US President Donald Trump has claimed that the strait is open, Gulf energy exports have been heavily restricted and goods cannot be imported through the waterway."}],[{"start":329.2,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1789351590_3023.mp3"}