Brent Pulls Back From $108 Peak as Gulf States Weigh First Talks With Iran Since War Began

On Sep 11, Bloomberg, Rigzone and Arab News reported that Iran and the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait), plus Iraq, are considering a meeting in Salalah, Oman -- tentatively Monday, Sep 14 -- to discuss the future management of the Strait of Hormuz, in what would be the first such gathering with Tehran since the war began Feb 28. Iran's foreign ministry framed the talks as intended to "promote better understanding among the countries of the region and help strengthen shared regional security"; Iran has proposed a fee-based transit framework for vessels crossing the strait, which the US and Gulf states oppose, and is separately considering a service-fee mechanism following the Aug 26 Oman-brokered transit corridor. The prospect of diplomacy, together with no further escalation overnight after Sep 9-10's record wave of shipping attacks, pulled Brent crude back from Thursday's roughly $108/bbl crisis-high to about $104.57-106.11/bbl by Friday trading (a 1.4-2.8% daily decline depending on the reference feed) -- still up sharply from the $97.89 close of Sep 8 -- while WTI eased to roughly $99.84, back under the $100 mark. Analysts cautioned the meeting remains unconfirmed and could be complicated by the widening Houthi offensive in Yemen, where the group's Sep 10 capture of the Red Sea port of Mokha opened a second maritime flashpoint alongside Hormuz just as regional diplomacy is being floated.