Bahrain Rejects Iran's Hormuz Meeting — SkimNews
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- Bahrain's Foreign Ministry announced Saturday it will not attend Iran's proposed Hormuz meeting in Oman, saying it 'will not be a party to any collective meeting that includes Iran before the resumption of diplomatic relations.'
- Iran has effectively blockaded the Strait of Hormuz throughout the war, halting Gulf oil and gas exports worldwide, and proposed Monday 'consultations' in Muscat on the strait's future.
- Iran is in negotiations with Oman—whose territorial waters also cover the strait—to potentially formalize control and charge passage fees, a step Bahrain explicitly rejected.
- Bahrain said security 'cannot be preserved through a policy of appeasement' and called for Hormuz to be open without 'discrimination, fees or permits.'
- Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told Al Jazeera the meeting is 'a sign of Iran's good intention' to talk to neighbors 'despite the fact that their territories, their military bases or the military bases of the United States, were used to attack Iran.'
- A senior Iranian official told Reuters the Muscat meeting is not expected to yield a signed agreement; Tasnim reported any understanding would only establish a basis for reopening, not immediate reopening.
Why it matters: Bahrain's refusal—conditioned on resuming ties Iran severed in 2016 and rejected alongside Saudi Arabia—means Tehran's Muscat meeting starts without a key Gulf participant, and with Reuters reporting no signed agreement is expected, Iran's push to legitimize Hormuz fees and formalized control has no regional buy-in beyond its existing blockade.
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