The man who oversaw the negotiations between the US and Iran into their final hours last month has now publicly declared that the Islamic Republic is not the one responsible for the war the US and Israel began on 28 February. “Whatever your view of Iran, this war is not of their making,” Oman’s foreign minister, Badr al-Busaidi, said on X on Monday. “This is already causing widespread economic problems, and I fear they promise to get much worse if the war continues. Oman is working intensively to put in place safe passage arrangements for the Strait of Hormuz,” he added. His comments are a stark departure from his Gulf counterparts, all of whom have expressed some level of anger at Tehran, as they bear the brunt of its retaliatory attacks, which have targeted US assets and personnel in the region, but also Gulf energy infrastructure. Busaidi, who does not normally appear for interviews and maintains a low profile, has become much more visible since the US-Israeli war on Iran. He took a trip to Washington just 24 hours before Trump announced the start of the war to appear on CBS News and effectively plead for further diplomacy. He said that Iran had made significant concessions in negotiations with the US.