The postponement adds a fresh layer of uncertainty to a Strait of Hormuz story that has already kept crude supported near multi-month highs, with Brent trading above $100 a barrel in recent sessions as roughly a fifth of global oil and LNG flows remain disrupted. Traders had been positioning for the Oman meeting as a potential step toward a temporary shipping corridor, so a delay, even one framed as procedural, tends to reinforce the risk premium already priced into the barrel rather than remove it. The framing matters here: Tehran describes the delay as a joint decision with Muscat, while other reporting points to friction among Gulf states, including Bahrain's stated refusal to attend, which points to a less settled diplomatic picture than the initial alert suggests. With the United States absent from the table and having signalled it wants any renewed talks focused on Iran's nuclear file rather than Hormuz access, the market is likely to treat this as a delay in sentiment rather than a resolution, keeping the geopolitical premium intact into the new session.A Monday meeting meant to advance a Hormuz shipping deal has been pushed back, with Tehran and Muscat citing consensus building even as Gulf unity looks shakier than billed.Summary:Iran's Fars news agency reported the postponement of Monday's planned meeting in Oman between Iran and Gulf Arab states, citing an Iranian foreign ministry official.Fars said the delay was a joint decision by Tehran and Muscat, made at the request of "certain regional countries."Oman's foreign minister separately said on social media that the meeting was delayed "in the interests of consensus."The talks were meant to discuss a possible temporary shipping corridor through the Strait of Hormuz, a route that normally carries about a fifth of global oil and LNG shipments.Bahrain had already said it would not attend until diplomatic ties with Iran are restored.The United States was not due to take part, with officials reportedly wanting future talks focused on Iran's nuclear program rather than Hormuz access.Iran said a planned meeting in Oman between Tehran and Gulf Arab states, scheduled for Monday to discuss possible arrangements over the Strait of Hormuz, has been postponed. Iran's semi-official Fars news agency, citing an Iranian foreign ministry official, reported that the postponement was a joint decision by Tehran and Muscat, made at the request of "certain regional countries." Oman's foreign minister, Badr Albusaidi, gave a similar account in a post on social media, saying the meeting was being delayed "in the interests of consensus," though he did not name which countries had raised objections.The gathering had been billed as a chance to advance an Omani-brokered framework for restoring safer passage through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman that normally carries close to a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments. The route has been severely disrupted since a US and Israeli campaign against Iran began in late February, and it remains a central pressure point for global energy markets seven months into the conflict. Tehran has been negotiating with Muscat for months over a deal that would govern transit through the strait, including a proposal that would let Iran collect fees from passing vessels, an idea Oman has resisted in favour of a voluntary payment model tied to navigational safety and environmental protection.Not every regional player was on board even before the delay. Bahrain said over the weekend it would not attend, citing the absence of restored diplomatic ties with Iran. The United States, which has maintained a naval escort operation for tankers through the strait, was not expected to take part either, with officials reportedly telling regional counterparts they would prefer any renewed negotiations with Iran to centre on its nuclear program rather than on Hormuz access.The postponement leaves the broader picture largely where it was: a waterway operating well below normal capacity, a diplomatic process moving in fits and starts, and a market still pricing meaningful risk into crude as it waits to see whether Tehran, Muscat and the wider Gulf can align on a workable path forward. This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.