The Death of a Temperate Leader in an Intemperate Region
Sultan Qaboos bin Said, who died on Friday, brought Oman into the modern age and made the Iran deal possible.
“We’re getting close.” Those were the last words I said to Oman’s Sultan Qaboos bin Said. It was the fall of 2013, during the final stretch of secret talks with Iran. Brokered and hosted by the Omanis, those negotiations—the first sustained diplomatic interaction between the United States and Iran in 35 years—would open the door to the comprehensive nuclear agreement with Tehran.
The sultan’s death was announced on Friday. The Iran deal’s demise, all but certain since the U.S. withdrew in 2018, may soon follow.
