The United States is reportedly increasing pressure on Persian Gulf mediator Oman over its neutral position in the US-Iran conflict, demanding that Muscat align itself with Washington and distance itself from Tehran.
The US is now pressuring Oman to drop its long-standing neutrality, choose sides and sever diplomatic relations with Iran, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing US and Arab officials.
According to the report, Oman moved quickly to establish a communication channel with Iran after the outbreak of the US-Israeli war of aggression against Iran that began on February 28.
Arab officials said Muscat’s diplomacy helped Persian Gulf states reopen key flight routes and ease regional tensions. This is while Washington has increasingly viewed Oman’s balanced approach and continued engagement with Tehran as unfriendly to US interests.
The pressure marks a sharp shift toward a country that has long maintained cordial relations with both Tehran and Washington and has frequently served as a trusted mediator for confidential negotiations in the region.
The tensions escalated last Wednesday when US President Donald Trump reacted to reports that Iran and Oman were considering a framework for jointly regulating shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
Threatening military action against the Persian Gulf sultanate, Trump told reporters that “Oman will behave like everyone else, or we’ll have to blow them up.”
Last Thursday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also issued a threat of targeting Oman with sanctions over its cooperation with Iran toward exercising control over the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the US threats against Oman.
Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei described the menacing rhetoric as “an attempt to blackmail an independent UN member state and yet another sign of the moral bankruptcy of the American system of governance and policymaking.”
Source: Press TV
