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Oman

August 21, 2026

Muscat 6:13 pm

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Caught in the middle, Oman shrugs off Trump's latest Iran threat

For the second time in months, President Donald Trump has threatened to strike the US partner as it holds talks with Iran.

His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik pays a private fraternal visit to the United Arab Emirates, where he held a meeting with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the UAE, at Al Shati Palace in Abu Dhabi, on Aug. 17, 2026.

Sultan of Oman meets UAE's MBZ as Iran-Hormuz talks advance

The talks come as Oman is in the midst of negotiations with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz.

Ships are anchored in the Strait of Hormuz on Aug. 10, 2026, off the coast of Bandar Abbas, Iran.

Iran says understanding reached with Oman over new Hormuz route map

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters in Tehran on Monday that “an understanding has been reached regarding the map of the transit route.”

Latest News

Trump threatens to bomb Oman if it 'gets in the way' of US-Iran deal

US President Donald Trump delivers remarks at the David S. Mack Center for Training and Intelligence on Aug. 14, 2026 in Garden City, New York.

Oil spills off Oman, Iran's Qeshm Island reap environmental havoc amid war

A photograph obtained from the Iranian Students’ News Agency shows an oil slick along the southern coast of Qeshm Island, Iran, August 13, 2026.

Explainer

Iran-Oman deal spurs Hormuz hopes as Red Sea threats evolve

Khaled ZIAD / AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

The emerging Iran-Oman Hormuz deal: What's at stake?

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (2nd L), Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (2nd R) and Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al-Busaidi (R) walk inside a building in Muscat, Oman, on June 22, 2026.

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Karen Young

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional energy

Internally displaced people gather to collect food aid from an ICRC aid distribution centre in Bajil, Yemen December 13, 2018, 2018. Picture taken December 13, 2018. REUTERS/Abduljabbar Zeyad - RC14633000A0

Oman’s humanitarian aid to Yemen also pragmatic

Providing assistance to Yemenis requires Oman to maintain a low profile and strike a political balance with its giant neighbor to the northwest, Saudi Arabia.

Sell-off in Oman reveals privatization with regional characteristics

Some Middle East countries in need of cash, such as Oman, are selling assets to Chinese and Malaysian state-owned entities.

RAMALLAH, WEST BANK - OCTOBER 31: (----EDITORIAL USE ONLY MANDATORY CREDIT - "PALESTINIAN PRESIDENCY / HANDOUT" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS----) Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (L) meets Omani Minister for Foreign Affairs, Yusuf bin Alawi (R) in Ramallah, West Bank on October 31, 2018. (Photo by PALESTINIAN PRESIDENCY / HANDOUT/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Palestine seeks economic relations with Oman

A Palestinian ministerial delegation is preparing to visit Oman early next year as part of efforts to sever economic ties with Israel, but some analysts wonder what benefits are to be gained by either party.

Electricity pylons, Oman. (Photo by Jason Larkin/Construction Photography/Avalon/Getty Images)

Intel: Why US is likely to raise concerns about China’s investment in Oman

A Chinese state-owned company has inked a deal to take over nearly half of Oman’s power transmission firm, which is valued at $2 billion.

(From L to R) Former Iranian foreign minister Kamal Kharazi, Omani Foreign Minister Yussef bin Alawi bin Abdullah and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif attend the Tehran Security Conference on January 8, 2018, in Tehran. / AFP PHOTO / ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran's regional peace initiative faces major challenges

While Oman and Iran may have high hopes for the Hormuz Peace Endeavor, regional security arrangements have typically needed great-power backing to hold them together.

U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo talk during a meeting with Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (not pictured), ahead of the NATO summit in Watford, in London, Britain, December 3, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RC2SND9G88LE

Trump condemns Iran protest crackdown, stays mum on Oman, French mediation efforts

President Donald Trump, responding to a reporter’s question in London, said the United States does not support the protesters in Iran before he later clarified his answer and castigated the Iranian government.

East Yemen former ruling dynasty calls to revive Mahra Sultanate

Amid Saudi Arabia’s growing military influence over the easternmost corner of Yemen, Al Mahrah’s former ruling dynasty wants independence.

Portrait of Mabroot Al Mashali, a former soldier of the Dhofar Rebellion in Southern Oman.

Oman’s national unity racks up high cultural costs as local languages fall silent

Oman's rich linguistic diversity is dwindling after fifty years of domination by Arabic as the language of education, trade and official correspondence.

Presidents Hassan Rouhani of Iran, Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and Vladimir Putin of Russia arrive for a news conference in Ankara, Turkey, September 16, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC1D1AF89BB0

The Takeaway: October 9, 2019

Oman's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah meets with Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (not pictured) in Tehran, Iran July 27, 2019. Nazanin Tabatabaee/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS. ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC19F47221C0

Interview

Oman minister describes role as 'facilitator' of diplomacy in turbulent region

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, Oman’s minister responsible for foreign affairs, describes his country's role as facilitator, not mediator, to resolve the region's conflicts, including Iran, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Yemen, and the embargo of Qatar.

Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah

Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Oman

What is happening behind the scenes in the Yemen talks?

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are trying to consolidate their military influence in Yemen through talks in Jeddah.

Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, speaks during a news conference with Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohamed Ali Alhakim in Baghdad, Iraq May 26, 2019. REUTERS/Khalid Al-Mousily - RC1CB4BEB750

What was behind regional tour of Iranian foreign minister?

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif goes to Kuwait and Qatar to promote dialogue, perhaps because opportunities that once developed through Oman may no longer be as fruitful as they once were.