After weeks when Middle East diplomacy seemed dead in the water, a rare meeting between Iran and its Persian Gulf neighbors has renewed hope for a deal that could fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Foreign ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council—which is comprised of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman—will meet their Iranian counterpart on Monday, sources told the Financial Times.
Brent crude oil prices tumbled 2.9% to $104.52 a barrel on Friday.
It would be the first such gathering since the U.S. and Israel launched their war on Tehran and also comes as Oman and Iran seek to build support on a deal the two countries have been crafting to temporarily manage traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, the report added.
For now, the U.S. and Iran have been locked in a stalemate over the global energy chokepoint. The U.S. naval blockade is preventing Iran from exporting oil via its ports, while Iranian drone and missile attacks are preventing other exporters from returning to prewar levels.
