Oman To Join Saudi-led Military Alliance

Oman told Saudi Arabia it will join a Saudi-led military alliance, the country’s official news agency reported, a sign that Iran’s closest Gulf ally is ready to improve its ties with the country.

Oman’s defense minister sent a letter to Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman announcing the decision to join the Islamic Military Alliance Against Terrorism, the Saudi Press Agency said. The prince will go to Oman in the coming weeks to pave the way for a visit by King Salman, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The king’s trip would help re-establish security, military and economic cooperation, the person said on condition of anonymity.

Oman’s ties with Saudi Arabia and its allies in the Gulf Cooperation Council have been strained because of its close relationship with Iran, the country’s biggest regional rival.

A rapprochement could help boost cooperation between Oman, one of the region’s smallest oil producers, and the bloc’s richest members. The GCC is a six-member group that also includes Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

Saudi Arabia and Iran are on the opposite sides of Middle East conflicts from Syria to Yemen. The country suspended ties with Iran last year after its embassy in Tehran was attacked by Iranian mobs after the execution of anti-government Shiite cleric Nimr Al Nimr.

Other Gulf countries, except Oman, also took diplomatic steps against the Islamic Republic.

“From a political standpoint it’s a Saudi win bringing in Oman back to the GCC fold,” said Ghanem Nuseibeh, founder of London-based consulting firm Cornerstone Global Associates.

“It will give Saudi greater regional influence and greater geological leverage.”

Oman’s Foreign Minister Yousuf Bin Alawi Bin Abdullah, in an interview with Egypt’s Al Akhbar newspaper published this week, said his country “has common interests with everybody, but each country has its own ways of achieving these interests and goals.”

The Saudi-led military alliance is a reference to an anti-terror coalition formed last year at the initiative of Prince Mohammad, King Salman’s son, to face security threats against Muslim nations.

The prince is also the Saudi defense minister. Shortly after his father ascended to the throne in 2015, the country launched a war to support an internationally-recognised government in neighboring Yemen against Iran-backed Al Houthi rebels. Oman didn’t join the campaign.

source : gulfnews