PM meeting with His Majesty Sultan Haitham Bin Tarik Al Said of Oman: 2 July 2026

The Prime Minister met His Majesty Sultan Haitham Bin Tarik Al Said of Oman in Downing Street on the afternoon of 2 July, according to the readout issued by No 10.

The Prime Minister expressed “solidarity with Oman and all our partners in the region,” per the readout, and the two leaders discussed Oman's crucial role in mediating the US–Iran agreement, alongside efforts to restore freedom of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and to provide transit security. “Oman's support was vital,” the Prime Minister said, per the account released by Downing Street.

The leaders committed to maintaining close cooperation and to staying in contact on regional stability and maritime security, the readout said. No further agreements or announcements were recorded in the published account of the meeting.

Background

Oman has for decades been the Gulf's quiet mediator between Washington and Tehran, a role rooted in its policy of maintaining working relations with all sides; Muscat hosted the secret back-channel talks that preceded the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Sultan Haitham has ruled since January 2020, when he succeeded Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the architect of that neutral course, and has broadly sustained it.

The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow passage between Oman's Musandam peninsula and Iran, is the world's most important oil chokepoint, carrying roughly a fifth of globally traded oil as well as a large share of liquefied natural gas shipments; threats to transit there move energy prices worldwide, which is why “freedom of shipping” language in a leaders' readout carries weight. Britain's relationship with Oman is its oldest in the Gulf, anchored by treaty ties reaching back centuries, close defence cooperation, and UK use of joint logistics facilities at the Omani port of Duqm.

What comes next

The readout's operative commitment is procedural: the two leaders will stay in contact on regional stability and maritime security. The points to watch are any concrete transit-security arrangements for the Strait of Hormuz that follow from the discussion, and Oman's continuing mediation role in the implementation of the US–Iran agreement referenced by Downing Street.