Along the narrow passage through which a third of the world's seaborne oil flows, diplomacy has paused before it could begin. Oman, long a quiet bridge between rival powers, had agreed with Iran to convene Gulf states around the question of Strait of Hormuz security — but the Gulf partners themselves asked for more time, signaling that consensus on how to engage Tehran remains elusive. The delay is framed as procedural, yet in the grammar of regional diplomacy, a postponement without a new date is its own kind of answer.