The historic closure of the Strait of Hormuz during the US-Israel-Iran war has quickly elevated Oman’s place on the Middle East map as the conflict reshapes the Gulf’s economic geography and drives interest in new regional trade corridors.

Case in point: On June 3, Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said Ankara wants to modernize the historic Hejaz Railway and eventually extend it to Oman, creating a strategic alternative to Hormuz. The feasibility of such a route is debatable, but the mere discussion of it further signals the sultanate’s growing importance in the Gulf’s trade architecture amid maritime disruptions in wartime.

Yet, Turkey’s proposal also arrives as Muscat faces blowback from the conflict. One week earlier, US President Donald Trump had threatened to “blow up” Oman if it cooperated with Iranian efforts to control Hormuz shipping, an astonishing warning directed at one of Washington's oldest Gulf partners and one long trusted as a regional intermediary.

Together, these developments capture Oman’s contradictory position as the war launched jointly on Feb. 28 by the United States and Israel against Iran reaches the 100-day mark amid ongoing negotiations. While the conflict has strained US-Omani relations and sidelined the country diplomatically — with Pakistan replacing Muscat in hosting US-Iranian talks — it has simultaneously elevated the sultanate's importance as an energy exporter, logistics hub and gateway connecting Gulf economies to the Indian Ocean.