# Oil dives as Iran and the Gulf finally talk

> A rare Iran-Gulf meeting lifted hopes for Hormuz, just as the Houthis put Saudi Arabia's backup route under fire.
- Title: Oil dives as Iran and the Gulf finally talk · Fortune
- Summary: A rare Iran-Gulf meeting lifted hopes for Hormuz, just as the Houthis put Saudi Arabia's backup route under fire. Even if Hormuz reopens partway, Saudi…
- Keywords: oil, iran, saudi arabia, hormuz, geopolitics, dives, Gulf, finally, talk, Fortune
- Source: Fortune — https://fortune.com/2026/09/11/oil-prices-hormuz-diplomacy-saudi-arabia-houthis-pakistan-us-bab-al-mandab
- Author: Jason Ma
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: oil, iran, saudi arabia, hormuz, geopolitics
## A meeting nobody expected
Foreign ministers from the six Gulf Cooperation Council states will sit down with their Iranian counterpart on Monday, the first such gathering since the U.S. and Israel went to war with Tehran.
## Traders bought the hope
Brent crude fell 2.9% to $104.52 a barrel on Friday on the prospect of a deal to manage traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
## A stalemate both sides feel
A U.S. naval blockade keeps Iranian oil bottled up in port, while Iranian drones and missiles keep everyone else from shipping at prewar volumes.
## What each side actually wants
Iran and Oman want the Gulf states to help pressure Washington into lifting the blockade. The Gulf states want ships moving without conceding that Iran controls the strait.

> For Iran and Oman it is about getting the GCC on board to try and use that to get the U.S. to lift its blockade on Iranian ports
## Iran opens a second front
With U.S. escorts pushing regional exports back to two-thirds of prewar levels, Iran hit U.S. bases and warships and backed a Houthi land grab near the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
## Saudi Arabia is on its own
Mohammed bin Salman called Trump twice asking for strikes on the Houthis and got intelligence instead. Pakistan, a treaty ally, says no military response is even being discussed.

> Pakistan is trying to keep a low profile in the Saudi-Houthi conflict because Pakistan's own stakes are high
## Key takeaway

Even if Hormuz reopens partway, Saudi Arabia's second export route is now the weak point, and nobody is coming to defend it.