FRIEND TO ALL, ENEMY TO NONE: OMAN’S QUIET DIPLOMACY SINCE 1970

As Qaboos’ coffin was carried into Muscat in January 2020 on the same military vehicle that had brought him into the capital city in 1970, the world had good cause to reflect on the implications of the passing of this ruler of five decades. His long rule was marked by Omani facilitation of dialogue between states and parties locked in diplomatic tension or all-out conflict and war. Muscat was a conduit for communication between Iran and Iraq during the Gulf War, Israel and the Palestinians, combatants in the Yemen War, and the United States and Iran. Helping first to secure