The Gulf · The Week
Hormuz Talks Collapse Before They Begin as Riyadh Objects; IRGC Says It Struck and Detained a Tanker Overnight
Oman's Salalah meeting was postponed indefinitely on Saudi amendments and a Bahraini boycott. The strait ran at four to seven visible transits a day. Qatar says it "supports reaching an agreement" — "only through negotiations."
The meeting that was to open the week did not happen. Oman postponed Monday's gathering of Gulf and Iranian foreign ministers in Salalah "in the interest of consensus," after Saudi Arabia submitted amendments to an Iran–Oman text that would have run inbound traffic through Iranian waters and outbound through Omani waters with tolls — terms Riyadh feared would "establish a new status quo." Bahrain had already refused to attend. Iran's foreign ministry blamed Saudi Arabia and said it would decide with Muscat "how to announce or register" their bilateral agreement regardless; Foreign Minister Araghchi, in Beijing on Wednesday, told Wang Yi that Iran "already agreed with Oman on a plan" and was "not interested in continuing conflict." No new date has been set.
At sea the week deteriorated. Reuters and Kpler counted seven visible transits of the strait on Monday and four on Tuesday — no supertanker, no LNG carrier — against a ten-day average of eighteen; Windward logged fifteen AIS transits and twelve "dark" ones on Wednesday. The expedition ship St Helena was hit by a projectile on Monday night; on Tuesday U.S. drones destroyed two Revolutionary Guard boats that Central Command said tried to seize an unmanned American vessel; a further incident was reported off Khasab on Thursday. Shortly after midnight this morning the IRGC Navy said it had "targeted and detained" the Togo-flagged tanker Trend for "illegal passage." Saudi Arabia, its East-West pipeline still shut, is loading about 2.1 million barrels a day against 7.5 million in January and moving crude by ship-to-ship transfer off Sohar; Houthi drones struck Yanbu and Khamis Mushait.
Washington named the "large bank" it had promised: Russia's VTB, sanctioned on Monday for moving "billions" of frozen Iranian assets. On Thursday Russia and China vetoed the extension of the UN panel that monitors Iran sanctions. President Trump said the war was "hopefully toward the end" and claimed direct contact with Tehran, which denied talks.
Qatar's Foreign Ministry, on Tuesday: "The State of Qatar supports reaching an agreement regarding the Strait of Hormuz. The world is already suffering enough from the closure. The only solution will be through negotiations." Iran staged a mass Basij exercise in Tehran today.
The dated record and the week ahead, Page 4
Sources: Al Jazeera, 14 Sep · RFE/RL, 13 Sep · Reuters via MarineLink, 16 Sep · Windward, 16 Sep · CENTCOM via Daily News Egypt, 15 Sep · Arab News, 18 Sep · Al Jazeera, 17 Sep · U.S. Treasury, 14 Sep · Al Jazeera, 17 Sep · Al Jazeera, 17 Sep · The Peninsula, 15 Sep · Al Jazeera, 14 Sep · RFE/RL, 13 Sep · Reuters via MarineLink, 16 Sep · Windward, 16 Sep · CENTCOM via Daily News Egypt, 15 Sep · Arab News, 18 Sep · Al Jazeera, 17 Sep · U.S. Treasury, 14 Sep · Al Jazeera, 17 Sep · Al Jazeera, 17 Sep · The Peninsula, 15 Sep