Gulf states have answered Iranian pressure in two very different ways. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates bought protection: air defence systems, advanced fighter jets, protected air bases. Oman bought access instead. It refused to join the Saudi-led war in Yemen, refused to join the 2017 blockade of Qatar, and kept an open line to Tehran throughout. Commentators sum this up with one label: Oman as the Switzerland of the Gulf. The label is wrong in one important way. Switzerland was never bombed by a country it was mediating with. Oman has been. Even so, Oman has come out of the worst year in modern Gulf history with stronger public finances, an intact diplomatic role, and a legal position […]
This article was sourced from Middle East Monitor.
Read Full Article on Middle East Monitor →![A ship waits to pass through the Strait of Hormuz following the two-week temporary ceasefire between the US and Iran, which is conditional on the opening of the strait, in Oman on April 8, 2026. Shipping traffic remained at low levels, reported. [Shady Alassar - Anadolu Agency]](https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/AA-20260408-41051701-41051699-SHIP_TRAFFIC_RESUMES_AT_STRAIT_OF_HORMUZ_FOLLOWING_USIRAN_CEASEFIRE-1-1.jpg)
