Assessments

United States

Iraq

Israel

Kuwait

Oman

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

United Arab Emirates

Iranian-made satellite carriers (left) and missiles (right) are displayed in front of the Holy Defense Museum in Tehran, Iran, on Sept. 20, 2020.

Military & Security

The integrated air and missile defense system laid out in the proposed DEFEND Act could entice Saudi Arabia to deepen normalization with Israel.

U.S. Lawmakers Unveil a Plan to Shield Middle East Allies From Iranian Aggression

U.S.-Iran Relations

High waves break on the seaside promenade in Muscat on Oct. 2, 2021, the day before Cyclone Shaheen officially made landfall in Oman. 

Economics

Environment, Science & Technology

The Arab Gulf country's long coastline makes it particularly vulnerable to the effects of warming sea temperatures, including more frequent tropical storms. 

Cyclone Shaheen Underscores Oman’s Need for Climate-Resilient Infrastructure

Security

Environmental Issues

Snapshots

Palestinian Territories

Naftali Bennett attends the first meeting of his new government on June 13, 2021, in Jerusalem.

A fresh peace process with the Palestinians could contribute to normalization with Gulf Arab states like Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman.

Greater Engagement With the Palestinians Could Win Israel More Normalization

Israel's Survival Strategy

Guidance

China

South Korea

Ukraine

Egypt

Afghanistan

A military aircraft takes off from the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug. 27, 2021.

Politics

South Asian Militancy

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended Stratfor articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: The Exit from Afghanistan and a U.S.-Ukraine Meeting

U.S.-China Relations

A picture taken on Sept. 15, 2020, shows the Omani national flag waving in Muscat.

Broken Contracts in the Middle East

Bringing Muscat’s fiscal house in order, however, will still require unpopular cuts to subsidies and public wages.

Amid Growing Debt, Oman Seeks IMF Technical Assistance

Hong Kong SAR, China

North Korea

Bahrain

Iran

Turkey

India

Zhang Xiaoming (C), Executive Deputy Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, at the end of a State Council press conference on Hong Kong electoral reform March 12, 2021, in Beijing.

The Weekly Rundown: The Mainland Finalizes Hong Kong Reforms, Biden Reviews North Korea Policy

The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict

Angola

Nigeria

Russia

Algeria

OPEC headquarters on April 4, 2013, in Vienna. OPEC+'s decision to maintain production levels will bolster the idea that oil markets are entering a supercycle, contributing to concerns about rising inflation.

Energy

OPEC+'s decision to maintain production levels will bolster the idea that oil markets are entering a supercycle, contributing to concerns about rising inflation.

OPEC+ Stays the Course, Driving up Oil Price, Inflation Expectations

Sudan

Morocco

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) and Alternate Prime Minister and Defence Minister Benny Gantz (left) attend a cabinet meeting in the Knesset on May 24, 2020.

Rebalancing Power in the Middle East

Should the vote yield a more right-wing government with a new leader, Arab and Muslim states may pause or even reverse their pursuit of normalized Israeli ties.

What Another Israeli Election Means for Netanyahu and Normalization 

Qatar’s defense minister (center) waits for the arrival of his Turkish counterpart to meet with the prime minister of Libya’s U.N.-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli on Aug. 17, 2020. 

The easing of the Qatar blockade may help resolve the current GCC crisis, but it won't unite Arab Gulf states’ divergent regional policies.

A Potential Breakthrough in Qatar Paves the Way for GCC Reconciliation 

The Yemen Civil War

The Libyan Civil War

Iran's Arc of Influence

A man walks past the flags of the countries attending the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in Kuwait City, Kuwait, on Dec. 5, 2017. 

A Crude Recovery

The proposed tax for wealthy Omani citizens underscores the growing pressure on GCC states to reduce their heavy reliance on oil and gas revenue.

Oman’s New Income Tax Will Offer a Test Case for the Arab Gulf 

COVID-19

Syria

A U.S. military convoy patrols a Syrian village along the Turkish border on Sept. 8, 2019.

The U.S. and the Balance of Power

To secure its counterterrorism efforts, Washington appears to be shifting away from its maximum isolation strategy toward more limited engagement with Damascus.

Is the U.S. Opening the Door for Diplomacy in Syria?

The Syrian Civil War

A masked Hamas militant mans a machine gun in the back of a pickup truck in the Palestinian city of Rafah, located in the southern Gaza Strip, on Oct. 17, 2019. The yellow flags of the Palestinian party Fatah can also be seen in the background. 

Progress on long-delayed elections suggests a new appetite for cooperation between the territories’ political rivals, along with a new role for Ankara, amid warming Israeli-Arab Gulf relations. 

Abandoned by Old Allies, Palestinian Leaders Turn to Turkey -- and Each Other

Turkey's Resurgence

Yemen

Omani delegates and representatives of Yemen's rebel Houthi group are reportedly heading to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to discuss a cease-fire, Reuters reported on Sept. 14.

Yemen: Houthis, Omani Intermediaries Visit Riyadh to Discuss Cease-Fire

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian is in Oman for meetings with senior Omani officials, Naharnet reported on June 21.

Iran, Oman: Iranian Foreign Minister Visits Oman on Gulf Tour

Oman's Civil Aviation Authority said that Omani airspace is now open to all civilian carriers, an indirect announcement that the Gulf state's airspace will also be open to Israeli carriers, The Jerusalem Post reported on Feb. 23.

Oman, Israel: Muscat Opens Airspace to Israeli Planes

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Muscat, Oman, on May 11 in his first state visit to a Gulf Cooperation Council country since the invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reported May 11.

Oman, Russia: Lavrov's Visit to Muscat Shows Bilateral Relationships Are Unchanged

United Kingdom

The Yemen-based Houthi rebel movement released the crew of the United Arab Emirates' flagged cargo ship Rwabee and a detained British man with Oman's assistance, Reuters reported April 25.

Yemen: Oman Facilitates Release of Houthi-held Prisoners

U.S. and Gulf Cooperation Council state officials met in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, at the GCC headquarters in a meeting of the Iran Working Group, which published a joint statement on the U.S. Department of State’s official website on Nov. 17.

U.S., GCC, Iran: Iran Working Group Issues Joint Statement

Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al Said ordered the creation of 32,000 job opportunities in 2021, 12,000 of which are supposed to be in the government sector, in response to ongoing protests over unemployment, the BBC reported May 25. 

Oman: Sultan Orders Creation of 32,000 Jobs in Response to Protests

Dozens of protesters demanding economic assistance gathered in front of a government labor office in the northern Omani city of Sohar, AP reported May 24. 

Oman: Police Disperse Rare Public Protest

Antigua and Barbuda

Luxembourg

South Sudan

A view of the Register in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

Argentina

Armenia

Australia

Lithuania

Covering an area that spans the entire width of the continent beginning at the Sahara Desert and ending at the southernmost tip of South Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa is home to countless cultures, languages, religions, plants, animals and natural resources.

Barbados

Benin

Maldives

Malta

Belize

Botswana

Brunei Darussalam

North Macedonia

Tajikistan

Bhutan

Bolivia

Burkina Faso

Cambodia

Germany

The President palace in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

The administrative center of the Gakh region of Azerbaijan, located at the foot of the southern slope of the Greater Caucasus, on the river Kurhumchai.

Brazil

Burundi

Finland

Nepal

Cameroon

Canada

Georgia

Jordan

Pakistan

Mir Castle in the Minsk region of Belarus.

Cabo Verde

Chile

Federated States of Micronesia

Liechtenstein

Sri Lanka

Central African Republic

Colombia

Fiji

Latvia

Lebanon

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Chad

Costa Rica

Indonesia

Libya

Comoros

Cuba

Czech Republic

Japan

A horse grazes in front of Kara-Kul lake in the Chon-Ak-Suu valley, 300 kilometers southeast of Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.

Cote d'Ivoire

Denmark

Dominica

Kiribati

Moldova

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Dominican Republic

Laos

Djibouti

Ecuador

Holy See (Vatican City)

Malaysia

El Salvador

Equatorial Guinea

Greece

Marshall Islands

Eritrea

France

Grenada

Mongolia

Located at the extreme southeastern corner of the Arabian Peninsula, the Sultanate of Oman is a mix of cosmopolitan port cities, rugged mountains and a wide desert interior.    Divided by mountains and deserts from neighboring Saudi Arabia, Yemen and the United Arab Emirates, Omanis have integrated themselves with other Indian Ocean communities for much of their history. With few water resources and population centers isolated by topography, Oman's geography has fostered three distinct cores. The cosmopolitan economic elite of Muscat, the tribal groups in Salalah and the Ibadi religious core in Nizwa. Maintaining unity of these cores is Oman's primary geographic challenge.    Muscat, Oman's largest port and political and economic capital, is separated from the rest of the country by the Al Hajar Mountains.     The al Qamar Mountains surround Salalah, Oman's second largest city and a regional tourist destination. Dhofar's mountains and dense vegetation helped harbor members of a Marxist-inspired rebellion against Muscat's rule for much of the 1960-70s.    Oman's government revenues are dependent on oil and gas reserves that are located in the central desert region south of Nizwa. This region was once home to the Ibadi Imamate that clashed with the coastal-based Sultanate for centuries.    The Musandam Peninsula, northwest of Muscat, places the critical shipping lanes of the Strait of Hormuz within Oman's territorial waters. The British granted Oman control over the peninsula during their withdrawal from the region in the 1970s.    Positioned between Peninsular Sunni Arab and Shiite Iranian spheres of influence, Muscat has had to pursue a flexible foreign policy strategy to balance between the two regional powers. Oman has traditionally relied on the major naval power of the day — formerly the British, today the United States — to help maintain this balance and protect its sovereignty.

The Fight for Russia’s Borderlands

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SITUATION REPORTS

Yemen: Houthis, Omani Intermediaries Visit Riyadh to Discuss Cease-Fire

Iran, Oman: Iranian Foreign Minister Visits Oman on Gulf Tour

Oman, Israel: Muscat Opens Airspace to Israeli Planes

Oman, Russia: Lavrov's Visit to Muscat Shows Bilateral Relationships Are Unchanged

Yemen: Oman Facilitates Release of Houthi-held Prisoners

U.S., GCC, Iran: Iran Working Group Issues Joint Statement

Oman: Sultan Orders Creation of 32,000 Jobs in Response to Protests

Oman: Police Disperse Rare Public Protest

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