Oman

Pacific Zircon, linked to Israeli billionaire, said to have been ‘hit by projectile’ but suffered only minor damageThe US and Israel have pointed the finger at Iran after an oil tanker associated with an Israeli billionaire was struck by a bomb-carrying drone off the coast of Oman.The drone attack on the Liberian-flagged oil tanker Pacific Zircon […]

Incident off Oman involved vessel owned by Idan Ofer conglomerateOil prices have risen after a tanker owned by an Israeli billionaire was hit by a drone carrying a bomb off the coast of Oman.The attack on Pacific Zircon, which is owned by Idan Ofer and operated by the Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping, sent Brent crude prices up 65 cents to $94.5 […]

Report finds widespread instances of forced labour, with women denied access to passports and subjected to physical or sexual abuseOman is failing to protect migrant domestic workers who are victims of human trafficking, trapped in abusive households and subjected to physical and sexual violence with no access to justice or a safe route home, a report has […]

Pentecostalism is quietly thriving, with pastors saying churches are helping low-paid workers in crisisEvangelical Christianity is quietly flourishing among migrant groups in the Gulf as churches provide low-paid workers facing horrific abuse with aid in times of crisis, according to pastors and parishioners across the region.About 30 million migrant […]

‘Insulting’ comments by spokespeople for ruling Bharatiya Janata party met with anger in Middle East The Indian government has become embroiled in a diplomatic row with Gulf states after two ruling party spokespeople were accused of making Islamophobic and derogatory comments insulting the prophet Muhammad.The ruling Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) […]

Debt paid as Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh-Ashoori were released is blocked in Oman, Iran saysThe historic £400m debt the UK paid to Iran at the time of the release of British-Iranian dual nationals Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori has still not reached Tehran, according to Iranian government sources.A senior Iranian government […]

Exclusive: academics call on Christopher Geidt to step aside from role as chair of a London universityBoris Johnson’s independent adviser on ministerial interests is under pressure over his own financial dealings, with academics calling for him to step aside from his role as chair of a London university.Christopher Geidt, who is chair of the council of […]

A cyclone that made landfall in Oman on Sunday has killed at least 13 people, and others are missing as the storm moved further inland and weakened. Omani state television broadcast images of flooded roadways and valleys as the storm churned deeper into the sultanate, its outer edges reaching the neighbouring United Arab EmiratesCyclone Shaheen hits Oman […]

Cyclone causes landslide in Oman and dust storm in Iran, as warning issued to residents in UAEA cyclone that made landfall in Oman on Sunday has killed 13 people, and others are missing as the storm moved farther inland and weakened.Authorities in Oman said they found the body of a man who disappeared when flood waters swept him away from his vehicle. […]

A spate of attacks on one of the world’s busiest shipping trade routes is part of an escalating tit-for-tat conflict playing out between Iran and Israel, says Martin Chulov, the Guardian’s Middle East correspondentIn the last week of July, an oil tanker managed by an Israeli company was making a routine journey from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania to Fujairah […]

Confirmation comes as British navy says armed group has left Panama-registered Asphalt PrincessOman has confirmed that a tanker boarded off the coast of the United Arab Emirates by a group of armed men was the target of a “hijacking incident”.The incident, involving eight or nine armed men, ended after the group left the ship on Wednesday morning, […]

Boris Johnson has said Iran must face up to the consequences of its 'outrageous' attack on an oil tanker in the Arabian Sea that killed two crew, including a British national. The Liberian-flagged Mercer Street, which is linked to an Israeli tycoon, was hit off the coast of Oman late on 29 July in what is thought to have been a swarm attack involving […]

Foreign Office says Iran must ‘immediately cease actions that risk international peace and security’Britain has summoned the Iranian ambassador to London for a meeting at the Foreign Office, accusing Tehran of an “unlawful” drone attack that killed a British citizen on a ship off Oman last week.James Cleverly, a Foreign Office minister, stressed to […]

Foreign secretary backs Israeli PM’s claims Iran was behind drone strike that killed Briton and RomanianThe UK has said it is “highly likely” that Iran carried out an “unlawful and callous attack” on a ship in the Middle East, which left a Briton dead.The foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, said the government believed the drone attack on the oil […]

Israeli foreign minister contacts Dominic Raab and says ‘Iran is not just an Israeli problem’Israel has blamed Iran for a suspected drone attack on a tanker in the Arabian Sea that killed two crew, including a British national, and has vowed a harsh response.The Liberian flagged Mercer Street, which is linked to an Israeli tycoon, was hit off the coast […]

The Kharg, the Iranian navy’s largest vessel, went down in the strait of Hormuz just after dawn on WednesdayMilitary officials in the Gulf are investigating what caused the Iranian navy’s largest vessel to catch fire and sink in the latest mysterious incident to affect shipping linked to Tehran.The support ship Kharg went down in the strait of Hormuz […]

The Iranian navy’s largest warship caught fire and sank in unclear circumstances in the Gulf of Oman on Wednesday, semi-official news agencies have reported.The blaze began at about 2.25am and firefighters tried to contain it, Fars said. The vessel sank off the Iranian port of Jask, near the strait of Hormuz. The crew are thought to have evacuated.Iran […]

Oil-producing nation aims plant powered by wind and solar energy to be at full capacity by 2038Oman is planning to build one of the largest green hydrogen plants in the world in a move to make the oil-producing nation a leader in renewable energy technology.Construction is scheduled to start in 2028 in Al Wusta governorate on the Arabian Sea. It will be […]

Women from Sierra Leone tricked into servitude find themselves sold on under Gulf’s kafala system Isha knew she was in trouble when her passport was snatched from her hands. The 27-year-old from Sierra Leone had just arrived in the Omani capital, Muscat, believing she was to start a well-paid job at a restaurant. Instead, her recruitment agent bundled her […]

Jebel Akhdar, a mountain range in the north of Oman, receives up to 500mm of rain a yearThe gulf state of Oman may be mostly desert, with an annual rainfall of less than 135mm (5in), but there is one exception to this. In the north, the mountain range of Jebel Akhdar, which rises to just over 3,000 metres (10,000ft), receives as much as 500mm (20in) of […]