Oman is a kingdom in the east of the Arabian Peninsula and south of the Persian Gulf. The country is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the southeast and Iran's water borders to the north. Over the past five decades, Sultan Qaboos has turned Oman to a major player in Middle East diplomacy. With the death of Sultan Qaboos in January 2020, Haitham bin Tariq al-Saeed, as the new Sultan of Oman, emphasized the continuation of the path of Sultan Qaboos. Therefore, little change in the attitudes of regional politics in the Middle East is expected.
In fact, foreign policy is an arena of interaction, diplomacy and defense of national interests. But the Middle East has always been a breeding ground for pessimism, lack of self-confidence and a lack of political legitimacy for its governments. Meanwhile, Oman has both trans-regional relations with countries and world powers and an active, orderly and balanced foreign policy at the regional level.
In fact, the principles of Oman's foreign policy are based on independence, respect for the territorial integrity of neighbors, neutrality and interaction with neighboring countries, participation in regional organizations and coalitions to introduce and strengthen its foreign policy and play a mediating role in the regional arena.
In this regard, by using intelligent diplomacy and the use of the principle of active and neutral mediation to reduce the level of tension in the region, it has been able to gain the positive opinion of other actors. Oman by being away from tensions, instant emotions and rhetoric, has also taken advantage of opportunities and has used them to raise and activate its foreign policy.
In addition, Oman needs a degree of stability and development of foreign relations in order to improve the economic situation of the country in the perspective of Oman 2040 and to prosper its economy through huge investment projects with the participation of other countries. Therefore, Sultan Heitham places more emphasis on expanding economic relations with all regional actors.
As if, Oman's relations with other countries benefit from a positive balance policy. Oman is a member of the Arab League and the Gulf Cooperation Council in the region, and has good relations with Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran.
Meanwhile, as Oman is strategically located in the east and southeast of the Arabian Peninsula, it is close to Iran through the isolated part of the Musandam Peninsula (south of the Strait of Hormuz).
In addition, just as Muscat did not accompany some of Saudi Arabia's efforts in the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, the siege of Qatar, etc., it is also considering normalizing relations with Israel in the midst of Tehran's tension with Israel.
In this context, in a situation where the Middle East suffers from a lack of dialogue, avoiding another possible war will prevent further damage to development infrastructure, so Oman, in addition to supporting the Palestinians' right to an independent Palestinian state, supports the normalization of Arabs-Israel relations. It also seeks to reduce Iran's widespread tensions with Israel.
Moreover, at the national level, Oman's most important strategy is to secure authority and internal security. Therefore, a number of regional crises or the activity of some members of ISIL and al-Qaeda groups, especially in the area of Yemen's border with Oman, can affect Oman's security.
Therefore, Oman's policy of neutrality during crises and military confrontations has been the country's best role model in regional crises. This approach was able to keep Oman away from the storms of developments in the Middle East.
In fact, in Oman's foreign policy, the first priority is given to neighboring countries. Since the Sultan Haitham came to power, many challenges such as escalating tensions between the United States and Iran, the Gulf crisis, and the inflamed situation on Yemen's borders with Oman have been continuing. But Muscat has now become one of the most active and trusted mediators in sensitive regional cases.
In the meantime, Oman, having a soft power in the diplomatic field, has been able to have continuous political interactions with important and small actors in the Middle East, becoming a voice of peace in the region, and has tried to establish peace.
Farzad Ramezani Bonesh
Senior Researcher and Analyst of International Affairs
