Arab News | Oman, US discuss de-escalation as talks over Hormuz stall

DUBAI: The foreign ministers of the US and Oman have discussed ways to contain the escalating tensions in the Gulf region and create conditions for renewed diplomacy.

Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Al-Busaidi and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke over the telephone on Tuesday about the need to tackle “outstanding issues” in ways that support regional security and stability, Oman’s state news agency reported.

Oman has played a central mediating role in the US-Iran conflict and is leading diplomatic efforts over the Strait of Hormuz, where disruptions to commercial shipping have heightened concerns over global trade and energy supplies.

Muscat earlier postponed a planned meeting in Salalah between Iran and Gulf Arab states to discuss arrangements for commercial navigation through the strait. But Al-Busaidi said that the meeting, scheduled for Monday, had been postponed to allow more time to secure regional consensus.

The talks were expected to bring Iran together with Gulf states to discuss a temporary shipping arrangement aimed at easing tensions and restoring safer passage through the strategic waterway.

Against this backdrop, Al-Busaidi and Rubio stressed the importance of maintaining coordination between their countries and building on existing cooperation to “entrench security and stability at both the regional and global levels,” the report said.

Oman searches for two crew members after tanker hit

On Tuesday, Oman said it was searching for two missing crew members who were aboard a tanker targeted in the Strait of Hormuz that was now being towed.

Vessels in the vital strait have come under repeated attack as Tehran seeks to maintain a stranglehold on the waterway in its war with the United States. Washington has also kept up a counterblockade of Iranian ports.

The Omani Maritime Security Center said it was overseeing a towing operation for the Panama-flagged oil tanker ELGAIA to a port in Oman after a fire was extinguished in its engine room following an attack northeast of Musandam.

The center, which is affiliated with Oman’s ministry of defense, added in a statement on X that “a Royal Navy of Oman vessel evacuated 23 crew members from the tanker and provided them with the necessary medical care.”

A search continues for two crew members who remain missing, it added.

Oman did not say when the ship was attacked.

However, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), a marine monitor, said a vessel had been on fire on Saturday after it was struck by an “unknown projectile” in the Strait of Hormuz.

British maritime security firm Vanguard Tech also reported that a Panama-flagged tanker had been struck that day and that the Omani navy was evacuating the crew.

*With AFP