Omani Foreign Affairs Minister Badr al-Busaidi has called for an immediate halt to hostilities in the Middle East, maintaining that pathways to peace still exist despite the escalating conflict between Iran and the combined US-Israeli forces. "Oman reaffirms its call for an immediate ceasefire and a return to responsible regional diplomacy. There are off-ramps available. Let's use them," he posted on X on Tuesday, though he stopped short of outlining specific proposals for ending the fighting.
The sultanate had been facilitating negotiations between Tehran and Washington prior to the outbreak of hostilities, with Muscat declaring that peace was "within reach" just hours before US-Israeli air strikes commenced on Saturday. Al-Busaidi challenged the Trump administration's portrayal of Iran as an "imminent threat" to America, asserting that "significant progress" had been achieved in nuclear discussions before the military campaign was launched. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had defended the strikes on Monday, arguing that Washington acted because it was aware Israel intended to bomb Iran and feared Tehran would retaliate against American installations in the region.
In response to the attacks, Iran launched retaliatory strikes targeting both Israel and US military positions throughout the Gulf. Saudi Arabia reported intercepting "two cruise missiles" over its Al-Kharj district and destroying "nine drones" that had entered its airspace, according to defence ministry statements, though no attribution was made regarding the origin of the projectiles.
Admiral Brad Cooper of US Central Command disclosed on Tuesday that American forces had hit close to 2 000 targets in Iran using more than 2 000 munitions, describing it as the largest concentration of firepower deployed in the region in a generation. "The first 24 hours of this operation were nearly double the scale" of the opening day of the 2003 Iraq campaign, he said in a video address, adding that round-the-clock strikes were continuing. Cooper noted that the prospect of neutrality had vanished once Iranian missiles began landing, compelling formerly non-aligned states to side with Washington in defence of their own territories.
Oman itself has not escaped the violence despite hosting no US military presence. The Duqm commercial port in central Oman's Al Wusta Governorate was struck by two drones on Sunday, injuring an expatriate worker, while a fuel storage tank at the same facility was hit in a further drone attack on Tuesday without causing casualties. Qatar's foreign affairs spokesperson Majed al-Ansari condemned the assault on Oman as "an attack on the very principle of mediation," while US President Donald Trump voiced solidarity with Gulf nations on Tuesday, stating: "Iran is hitting countries that had nothing to do with what is going on."
