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Oman

June 7, 2026

Muscat 4:55 pm

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Oil tankers and high-speed crafts anchored near the Strait of Hormuz, Muscat, Oman, March 30, 2026.

Analysis

Oman’s wartime paradox: Diplomatic losses, economic gains

Experts see Oman gaining long-term economic benefits from the US-Israel-Iran war even as the conflict bruises Muscat’s diplomatic standing.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

AFP via Getty Images

Oman denies disruption at key oil hub after reported drone attack

Oman’s state-owned oil company rebuffed reports about the suspension of oil loading operations at a key port following an alleged drone attack.

Amjad Kurdo / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

How Iran war created unexpected economic beneficiaries

The Strait of Hormuz crisis is reshaping global energy and trade flows, creating opportunities for economies far beyond the Middle East.

Oman's Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi (L) and US President Donald Trump pose during a summit on Gaza in Sharm el-Sheikh on October 13, 2025.

Trump threatens to 'blow up' Oman as US-Iran talks stall

“Oman will behave just like everybody else, or we will have to blow them up,” Trump said in surprising comments on Wednesday.

Latest News

Iran’s Hormuz authority declares control over ports in UAE, Oman: What to know

AFP via Getty Images

Oman enters Gulf AI race with new special economic zone in Muscat

Haitham AL-SHUKAIRI / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Hostage to Hormuz, can Gulf rewire future energy flows to bypass Iran’s chokepoint?

A police speed boat patrols the port as oil tankers and high speed crafts sit anchored at Muscat Anchorage near the Strait of Hormuz on March 30, 2026 in Muscat, Oman.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

TotalEnergies reaped more than $1B profit from Iran war: What to know

Jean-Christophe VERHAEGEN / AFP via Getty Images

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Karen Young

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional energy

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.

The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson conducts flight operations while underway in the Arabian Gulf in this U.S. Navy handout photo dated April 4, 2011. He may have been America's enemy number one, but after U.S. forces killed him in Pakistan, Osama bin Laden was afforded Islamic religious rites by the U.S. military as part of his surprise at-sea burial on Monday. The body was transported to the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, which brought him to his final resting place somewhere in the north

Putin’s Gulf security plan depends on Trump

The Russian president plans to roll out his regional initiative to calm Gulf tensions next month — but are the United States and the EU ready to let Putin step up in the Gulf?

A girl drinks water from a tap inside a refugee camp in Baghdad September 27, 2007. About 70 families lived in a refugee camp after they were displaced from their homes because of the sectarian violence, the Red Crescent organization said. REUTERS/Mahmoud Raouf Mahmoud (IRAQ) - GM1DWGBBQSAA

Geopolitics delay action while climate change threatens to parch Mideast

The Middle East and North Africa region faces serious water risks, but experts say the collective action needed to address the problem is still far off.