What makes the Sultanate of Oman the Gulf's geopolitical exception?
For decades, Oman has pursued a clear foreign policy based on what it calls "positive neutrality".
The sultanate of around 5 million people has consistently sought to stay clear of local conflicts and instability – whether during the Iran-Iraq War (1980–88), the First Gulf War (1991), the blockade of Qatar (2017) or the Syrian civil war.
Oman also refused to join the coalition against the Houthis in Yemen in 2015. As a neutral intermediary, Muscat hosted Houthi officials and became a key channel for negotiations between them and Saudi Arabia.
The country also played a central role in the 2023 rapprochement between Tehran and Riyadh.
"The sultanate has established itself as a platform for international mediation, capable of speaking to everyone without ever fully aligning itself with any side," says Tigrane Yégavian, a lecturer in international relations at Paris's Schiller International University.
An 'indispensable mediator'
In efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the late Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said received Israel's Prime Minister Shimon Peres in 1994, and later Benjamin Netanyahu in 2018 – despite the absence of diplomatic relations between the two countries and the visits being far from popular among the Omani public.
According to the US-based Foreign Policy magazine, Sultan Qaboos, who died in 2020, was “the Arab world's longest-serving ruler, and his personal relationships were central to Oman's role as the Gulf's indispensable mediator. Qaboos could pick up the phone and talk to anyone from Tehran to Washington, and both sides would listen.”
Another major diplomatic undertaking centred around Iran's nuclear programme, a process that began in the early 2000s and culminated in 2015.
Although no Omani leaders appeared in the official family photograph, Muscat nevertheless played a decisive role in the negotiations that led to the Vienna agreement – later derailed by United States President Donald Trump in 2018.
Despite this setback, Oman remained committed to maintaining ties with both Tehran and Washington.
Qaboos, the Sultan who shielded Oman from region's turmoil Oman's Sultan Qaboos meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the capital Muscat in October 2018.
Diplomatic legacy
The new Sultan of Oman, Haitham bin Tariq, a cousin of the late Sultan Qaboos, has followed in his predecessor's footsteps since taking power in 2020.
The sultanate resumed work on the Iranian nuclear file in April 2025, shuttling between American and Iranian delegations in Muscat – until the 12-day Iran-Israel war of June 2025 once again brought negotiations to a halt.
Omani diplomacy nevertheless persevered, returning to talks in February 2026. For the sultanate, an agreement seemed feasible.
But just hours after Muscat expressed optimism about a breakthrough, Washington and Tel Aviv launched an unprecedented simultaneous offensive against Iran on 28 February.
'International law is our compass' in global conflict, UN rights chief tells RFI
"At that moment, I felt the Omani government believed it had secured something," Abdullah Baabood, an Omani researcher specialising in Middle Eastern international relations and a lecturer at Waseda University in Tokyo, told RFI.
"But it seems the Israelis and the Americans had already planned the attack. All these negotiating efforts were in vain, and it was another slap in the face."
Known for its extreme discretion, on this occasion Oman openly expressed its regret and opposition to what it described as another "illegal war". Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi broke his public silence for the first time, writing in The Economist that the US had "lost control of its foreign policy".
'The Switzerland of the Gulf'
But where does Oman's distinctive diplomatic approach – which has earned it the moniker "the Switzerland of the Gulf" – originate from?
One thing that distinguishes Oman from other countries in the region is its religion. Omanis are neither Shia, like their neighbour Iran to the east, nor Sunni like Saudi Arabia to the west, but Ibadi – a minority branch of Islam that advocates moderation, tolerance and unity, and fiercely condemns violence against Muslims of any other sect.
Another distinctive feature is Oman's geography. The country primarily faces the Indian Ocean, with only its western tip bordering the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 percent of the world's oil passes.
While Oman was the first Arab state to establish diplomatic representation in the US, in 1840, it is also the only Gulf country not to host a permanent US military base.
For Muscat, the Strait of Hormuz therefore represents a significant safeguard of its security, particularly as the sultanate's hydrocarbon resources are relatively limited.
Oil prices extend rally as US and Iran step up mutual attacks
While seeking to avoid escalation, Muscat remains committed to jointly managing the Strait with Tehran, something it can only do by maintaining cordial relations, and Sultan Haitham has sought to reconcile his neighbour's demands with international maritime law and the principle of freedom of navigation.
"This has justified Oman's cautious policy," says Laurent Bonnefoy, a researcher with the French National Centre for Scientific Research at Sciences Po university's Centre for International Studies.
"But at the same time, this desire to maintain a form of neutrality is entirely consistent with the foreign policy pursued for almost six decades. At the regional level, it also serves a purpose. It demonstrates the importance of keeping channels open with the Iranians. Almost everyone recognises how valuable that function is."
This article has been partially adapted from the original version in French by Anne Bernas.