Oman says Iranian attacks on Gulf ‘inevitable’ response to US-Israeli agression
Oman‘s foreign minister has called for the US to extricate itself from the war in Iran, describing the Islamic Republic’s attacks on Gulf states as an “inevitable” reaction to the assault.
Writing in the Economist, Badr Al Busaidi – who also mediated the most recent failed talks between the US and Iran – said that the US had miscalculated by allowing itself to be “drawn into” the conflict with Iran.
“Iran’s retaliation against what it claims are American targets on the territory of its neighbours was an inevitable, if deeply regrettable and completely unacceptable, result,” he wrote.

“Faced with what both Israel and America described as a war designed to terminate the Islamic Republic, this was probably the only rational option available to the Iranian leadership.”
Since Wednesday, Iran has launched a volley of attacks on petrochemical facilities across the Gulf, including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, causing at least two fires.
The US-Israeli attack on Iran, and the Islamic Republic’s subsequent retaliation, has had a devastating effect on global energy prices, exacerbated by Iran’s closure of the vital Strait of Hormuz.
Al Busaidi warned that the Gulf states’ status as a stable hub for tourism, technology and finance was now “endangered” and said plans for them to become global hubs for data centres “may need to be revised”.
“The effects of Iran’s retaliation are already being felt globally, as maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is severely disrupted, driving up energy prices and threatening deep recession,” he wrote.
“If this had not been anticipated by the architects of this war, that was surely a grave miscalculation.”
He added that only Israel stood to gain materially by overthrowing the Islamic Republic, and had little concern about who governs Iran subsequently.

He said that it was “not America’s war” and allies of the US needed to be frank with the country.
“That begins with the fact that there are two parties to this war who have nothing to gain from it, and that the national interests of both Iran and America lie in the earliest possible end to hostilities,” he wrote.
“This is an uncomfortable truth to tell, because it involves indicating the extent to which America has lost control of its own foreign policy. But it must be told.”
‘Dismayed’ Oman foreign minister says US-Israeli attacks began with deal in reach

Busaidi was one of the main mediators in the talks between Iran and the Trump administration. On Friday evening, he told CBS news that he was confident “a peace deal is within our reach”.
Hours later, the US and Israel launched their joint attacks.
“I am dismayed,” he wrote on X. “Active and serious negotiations have yet again been undermined.”
Al Busaidi added that the war does not serve the interests of the US.

In his interview with CBS, Al Busaidi had expressed his confidence in the success of the negotiations despite Trump’s statements that he was not satisfied with the outcome of the talks.
“I am confident, and in my assessment of the way the talks are going, I think there is, really I can see that the peace deal is within our reach,” he told Face the Nation.
‘Substantial progress’
He said that mediators had already reached “a substantial progress” with respect to Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
“The single most important achievement, I believe, is the agreement that Iran will never, ever have a nuclear material that will create a bomb,” he said, pointing out that such a pledge was not included under the 2015 deal with then-President Barack Obama.
“This is something completely new. It really makes the enrichment argument less relevant, because now we are talking about zero stockpiling. And that is very, very important, because if you cannot stockpile material that is enriched then there is no way you can actually create a bomb, whether you enrich or don’t enrich.”
Asked whether Iran agreed to give up its nuclear enrichment activities, the minister said “they would give it up” and that there would be “zero stockpiling” and “full and comprehensive verification” by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
He added that an agreement has been reached for the current stockpiles to be reduced to the lowest level possible, and “converted into fuel, and that fuel will be irreversible”.
Iran launched retaliatory strikes on Israel as well as various Gulf states on Saturday, following the attacks.
Explosions were heard in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar, where US forces have been targeted.
It is unclear how many Iranians have been killed so far. However, a strike on a school in southern Iran has reportedly killed at least 50 girls, believed to be aged between seven and 12.
- Previous Israel wants to draw Azerbaijan to War: Central Asia Faces Growing Regional Risk
- Next Russian gives India oil bound for China, despite New Delhi’s treacherous position on crude trade




