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 @ISIDEWITHNewsTrump administrationGeopoliticsMiddle East DiplomacyOmanNeutrality•••3 days ago

US ends Oman’s role as Iran mediator after accusing it of duplicity

Today, the United States officially removed Oman from its long-standing role as the primary mediator between Washington and Tehran.

Senior Trump administration officials accused Muscat of "duplicitous" conduct, alleging the Gulf state acted more as an Iranian proxy than a neutral broker during recent failed talks. For decades, Oman has operated as the "Switzerland of the Middle East," using its unique neutrality to host secret backchannel negotiations that led to major agreements like the 2015 nuclear deal. The administration's move signals a shift toward a "with us or against us" regional strategy that leaves little room for Oman's brand of quiet diplomacy.

Diplomats are now bracing for a complete communication blackout between the US and Iran as the region's most trusted hotline goes silent.

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6 Replies

 @ISIDEWITHlinked…3 days3D

How Quiet Oman Landed Itself in Trump’s Cross Hairs

https://nytimes.com

 @ISIDEWITHlinked…3 days3D

Senior US official chastises Oman for 'duplicitous' conduct while mediating previous failed US-Iran talks

https://timesofisrael.com

 @ISIDEWITHlinked…3 days3D

Trump has turned on Britain’s key ally in the Middle East

https://telegraph.co.uk

 @BF3CBJGIndependent from Michigan  commented…3 days3D

US is getting involved in world affairs and derailing the path towards world peace rather than supporting it

 @BF3D48SDemocrat  from California  commented…3 days3D

If there is credible evidence that a mediator is acting in bad faith, finding a more neutral intermediary may be necessary to preserve stability and reduce the risk of escalation.

 @BF3D877 from Georgia  commented…3 days3D

I think that Donald Trump is getting paranoid about how difficult it is to end these conflicts and Iran is becoming suicidal as the fighting continues

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…2yrs2Y

Elizabeth Warren Walks Back Murder Comments

Congressional Democrats broadly denounced the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson Friday morning, after Republicans started accusing Sen. Elizabeth Warren of excusing violence.“No one's condoning this,” said Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.). “Violence never is the right answer for anything. And it was a horrible murder, a tragic loss for his family.” Warren this week condemned the shooting, but added that people “can be pushed only so far.”"We'll say it over and over," Warren said on MSNBC’S “The ReidOut.” " Violence is never the answer. This guy [Luigi Mangione] gets a trial who's allegedly killed the CEO of UnitedHealth, but you can only push people so far, and then they start to take matters into their own hands."In a statement to POLITICO, Warren said, “Violence is never the answer. Period. I should have been much clearer that there is never a justification for murder.” Top Republicans denounced Warren's comments and the walked-back rhetoric, with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) calling it “inappropriate and dangerous.”Some House Democrats asked about the incident on Thursday pivoted the conversation to discuss policy options on health care or gun safety.“I don't really know that this is really a space that Congress normally weighs in on,” said Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas). “But at the end of the day, I think it’s an opportunity, because now people are talking about health care and to talk about the fact that this industry has honestly not been as helpful as it could be.”“Violence is never the answer,” said Rep. Troy Carter (D-La.). “We know that there are people suffering, there’s great challenges in healthcare. There's great challenges, and people have, in fact, been wronged, but a process of governance is the way to address that, not violence.”And Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) who denounced the murder, said the killer should be prosecuted and that “I do know that allegedly a ghost gun was used, and we should also ban ghost guns. There's no reason for them beyond the streets.”

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…2yrs2Y

Israeli Bombings Kill 2,300 In Lebanon in 3 weeks

Lebanese authorities say Israeli bombing has killed more than 2,300 people and injured almost 11,000, mostly in the past three weeks, with Israeli attacks reaching areas far beyond Hizbollah’s traditional bastions of support in the south.The Israeli military has ordered people living in more than a quarter of Lebanon to flee, according to a UN calculation, as its fight with the Iran-backed Shia militant group Hizbollah threatens to engulf the Mediterranean country.Lebanese authorities say Israeli bombing has killed more than 2,300 people and injured almost 11,000, mostly in the past three weeks, with Israeli attacks reaching areas far beyond Hizbollah’s traditional bastions of support in the south.More than 1mn people have fled their homes in Lebanon in under a month, according to its government, a dramatic forced movement of the population in a country of only about 5mn inhabitants with a land mass smaller than the US state of Connecticut. Israeli forces began a ground offensive in south Lebanon two weeks ago, in their fourth invasion of the country in under five decades. They had already destroyed large parts of the densely populated southern Beirut suburb where Hizbollah had its headquarters, and killed many top militant commanders in air strikes, including former leader Hassan Nasrallah.Rema Jamous Imseis, Middle East director of UNHCR, told journalists in Geneva that “over 25 per cent of [Lebanon is] under a direct Israeli military evacuation order”. “People are heeding these calls to evacuate and they’re fleeing with almost nothing,” she added, saying that 80 per cent of the shelters opened by the Lebanese government — mostly in schools — were now full.

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