Oman's voice

Oman's foreign minister published an opinion piece in The Economist urging American allies to step in and help end what he called an "unlawful war". It is a significant break. Oman has historically been the quiet mediator between Washington and Tehran, the back channel that facilitated the 2015 nuclear negotiations and the Geneva talks of February 2026. For Muscat to abandon its rhetorical neutrality and label the war as unlawful is not a minor gesture.

Oman has not escaped the conflict unscathed. Iranian drones struck its ports at Duqm and Salalah. Two people died when security forces intercepted a drone near an industrial area. But Oman has not broken with Iran or expelled diplomats. Its position is the most nuanced in the Gulf: it condemns the war without aligning with either side.

The article in The Economist has a clear audience: Europe. Trump said this week that the US should "rethink" its NATO membership because allies are not helping with the war or with securing the Strait of Hormuz. Several partners rejected the request to send warships. Oman is telling Europe what Europe has not dared to tell itself: that this war has no legal basis, that it is destroying the order the West claims to defend, and that someone needs to put a stop to it. The problem is that the only one who can stop it is the one who started it.