Oman no longer balances between the West and Iran. Muscat now openly coordinates with Tehran over the Strait of Hormuz.

On July 11, Muscat proposed dividing Hormuz traffic into two separately controlled routes — one along Iran’s coast, one nearer Oman’s shore — each administered by the respective government. Officials described the plan as toll-free. Yet, the same framework emerged from Muscat’s Joint Hormuz Committee with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, where negotiators discussed operations, administration, navigation services, and passage costs. Oman’s foreign minister had already labeled the U.S.-Israel campaign against Iran “immoral and illegal.” The pattern now exposes neutrality as an obsolete diplomatic posturing.