Oman - AL-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Oman cover image

Oman

February 6, 2026

Muscat 2:12 am

22°C

KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images

Iran warning near Hormuz collides with Red Sea shipping comeback

Armed boats attempted to intercept a vessel near the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, the same day that major container lines also announced the resumption of limited transits through the Suez Canal.

US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a joint press conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, on Feb. 13, 2025.

How US-India trade deal could impact Mideast energy, trade routes

The United States and India struck a trade agreement on Monday that eases months of tension between the two countries and could influence Gulf oil flows and economic integration.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (R) gestures next to Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani (L) during a meeting at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas on November 25, 2015. AFP PHOTO/JUAN BARRETO / AFP / JUAN BARRETO (Photo credit should read JUAN BARRETO/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

With central role for Qatar, can Gulf states mediate between US and Venezuela?

Venezuela's ties improved with Gulf states under Maduro, and some in the region voiced concern about the US operation.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

The Iranian-flagged oil tanker Fortune is docked at the El Palito refinery after its arrival to Puerto Cabello in the northern state of Carabobo, Venezuela, on May 25, 2020.

Analysis

Venezuelan crisis unlikely to impact MENA crude exporters in short term

Oil prices inched up on Monday as global oversupply concerns outweighed output disruption fears over the upheaval in Venezuela.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Latest News

Yemeni ministries declare support for STC campaign as Gulf tensions flare

Saleh Al-OBEIDI / AFP via Getty Images

India’s Modi eyes closer ties with Jordan, Oman during visits

His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al-Hussein bin Abdullah II (R) meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Jordan, on Dec. 16, 2025.

Analysis

UK chases elusive GCC trade deal that could boost exports, economic links

UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves, right, and Qatari Finance Minister Ali bin Ahmed al-Kuwari arrive at the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Oct. 28, 2025.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Analysis

How Gulf states are powering Turkey’s Eurofighter ambitions

A Eurofighter Typhoon of the German Air Force (31 26) in flight during a demonstration as part of a press day at the military air base in Laage, south of Rostock, Sept. 23, 2025.

Francesco Schiavi

By Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Karen Young

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional energy

Gulf’s megaprojects face delays, reassessment

Saudi Arabia has cut capital expenditure for a number of Vision 2030 projects amid a drop in oil prices and Chinese investment. Will other Gulf states follow suit?

Women wear protective face masks, as they walk, after Saudi Arabia imposed a temporary lockdown on the province of Qatif, following the spread of coronavirus, in Qatif, Saudi Arabia March 10, 2020. REUTERS/Stringer - RC25HF9S55OY

China ramps up COVID-19 diplomacy in Mideast

As the Trump administration tries to link the coronavirus to a Chinese laboratory, Beijing is using the pandemic to strengthen ties in the Gulf.

View of a pier in downtown Muscat, Oman. (Photo by: Edwin Remsberg/VWPics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Oman’s sovereign wealth fund under pressure

Ahead of the prospect of a high budget deficit in 2020, assets held by the State General Reserve Fund (SGRF) plunged by about a third to $14.3 billion.

Intel: Trump calls on Qatar to work toward resolving Gulf dispute

President Donald Trump has asked Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to take steps to resolve the ongoing dispute with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE, which blockaded Qatar in 2017.

For Gulf, South Asia countries, worst is yet to come

The pandemic is expected to be especially hard on migrant workers in the Mideast and South Asia, as it has left many of them unemployed and struggling to return home to an uncertain future.

Is Oman’s model of governance about to shift?

Oman's debts are piling up as oil prices crash, putting at risk its wide-reaching social welfare system.

An airline employee walks through Reagan National Airport during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Washington, U.S., April 5, 2020. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RC2KYF955PLJ

‘All hands on deck:’ Middle East embassies inundated with citizens stranded in US

Middle East embassies are overwhelmed with calls from citizens trying to return home as COVID-19 spreads in the United States.

U.S. Secretary of State?Mike?Pompeo meets with Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tariq at al-Alam palace in Muscat, Oman on February 21, 2020. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool via REUTERS - RC225F97S5EO

Oman’s foreign policy after Sultan Qaboos

As Sultan Haitham’s reign begins, Omanis hold fast to the Gulf state’s long-standing commitment to dialogue and regional diplomacy.

Yemen’s Hadi hopes new governor calms Mahra tensions

In the wake of clashes between Saudi forces and local tribesmen in Mahra province, Yemen’s president appointed a new governor in the hope of preventing further violence.

Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said is sworn in before the royal family council in Muscat, Oman January 11, 2020. REUTERS/Sultan Al Hasani TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC2MDE9MAR1J

Will ties with Iran change under Oman’s new sultan?

A new sultan sitting on the throne in Muscat has sparked questions about the future of traditionally cordial ties Tehran held with the late peacemaker, Sultan Qaboos bin Said.

A tourist lifts up a boy as they visit waterfalls at Ayn Athum in Salalah, Dhofar province, Oman August 23, 2016. Picture taken August 23, 2016. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah - D1BETYFAUFAC

Is tourism the antidote to youth unemployment in Oman?

Omani officials aim to create over 500,000 jobs in the tourism sector by 2040.

Members of a Palestinian family sit around a fire to warm themselves at the site of their destroyed house, on a rainy day in the southern Gaza Strip January 10, 2020. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC24DE9KGKN8

Islamic Jihad undermines shaky Gaza cease-fire with rocket barrage

Israel, Egypt holding Hamas accountable for all attacks from Gaza; the wisdom of Sultan Qaboos.