HIGHDIPLOMATICVERIFIED

Oman FM Busaidi: Oman working to establish 'safe passage arrangements' for Strait of Hormuz

2026-03-23 · 11:00 UTC·Muscat, Oman

Oman's Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi said on social media shortly before Trump's postponement announcement that Oman was actively working to establish 'safe passage arrangements' for the Strait of Hormuz. The statement confirmed Oman's role as the key mediating channel between Washington and Tehran and was the first explicit public acknowledgement of Omani efforts to broker Hormuz access during the war.

Oman's Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi posted on X that Oman was working to establish 'safe passage arrangements for the Strait of Hormuz,' posting shortly before President Trump's announcement of a 5-day pause on US strikes against Iranian power plants. The post confirmed what had been long suspected: Oman is the primary diplomatic back-channel between the United States and Iran in the current war. The New York Times identified the post as part of the mediation context that preceded Trump's pause announcement. Iran's Foreign Ministry separately acknowledged 'regional initiatives' aimed at reducing tensions, consistent with Omani mediation. Oman has historically served as the principal intermediary for US-Iran back-channel contacts, including during the 2013 nuclear negotiations.

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Actor responses

IranNEUTRALDIPLOMATIC

Iran's Foreign Ministry acknowledged 'regional initiatives aimed at reducing tensions' consistent with Omani mediation, while maintaining that Trump's pause was about buying time for military plans.

United StatesSUPPORTINGDIPLOMATIC

US engagement via Oman confirmed by Trump's reference to productive talks and Witkoff/Kushner channel. Oman's Busaidi statement preceded Trump's postponement announcement by a short interval.

Sources

T1New York Times Live Blog9% reliability