Oman is often viewed as Tehran's only friend in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). It has never held hawkish views against the Islamic Republic and has accomplished substantial mediation work in favour of regional stability, including for Iran.
The Strait of Hormuz crisis is nevertheless putting Muscat in a difficult position, as we explained in our previous reports. Positioned between Iran and the GCC, Oman finds itself caught between a rock and a hard place, and has to navigate the intricacies of ongoing negotiations with Tehran over the strait.
The gulf inbetween
Technical talks of the joint committee for the Strait of Hormuz started this week in Muscat and are poised to resume next week. Planned meetings and continued consultations, however, cannot hide the two sides' diverging positions.
Pulled in two opposite directions, Oman has let Tehran hear what it wants while doing something else more closely aligned with the interests not only of the GCC but also of the wider international community, which seeks the swift return of normal maritime traffic through the Gulf — a key requirement of the Iran-U.S. interim deal.
