Military operations in Dhofar Province of Oman

This file concerns military operations in the Dhofar Province of Oman, January to December 1973. It contains correspondence relating to:

• A visit by HM Ambassador in Muscat D F Hawley to Taqah, Marbat, Manston Air Base, Mudhai, Simba [Sarfait], Midway [Thumrait], Madinat Al Haqq, Jibjat and Condor Position
• The losses sustained by the rebels and Anglo-Omani forces near Akoot and Simba Position
• The difficulty of aerial resupply due to rebel fire and the possibility of withdrawal from Simba, and a mission by Commander of the Sultan's Armed Forces to loan helicopters from Iran
• A message from the Sultan of Oman Qaboos Bin Saeed Al Said to the Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi requesting the assistance of six Iranian helicopters in Sarfait, and the Shah's reassurance that the 'Iranian Army will do whatever is within its resources'
• A request from Oman to Saudi Arabia and the USA for the loan of four additional helicopters
• A message of thanks from King Faisal Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud for the report on the situation in Oman and wishing HMG to exert the utmost effort to shore up the Sultan's position
• The deployment of Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) for the purpose of resupplying Simba with water
• The agreement on the contribution of £ 500,000 to the defence budget of the Sultanate, and a planned visit by Secretary of Defence Lord Carrington to Saudi Arabia and Oman
• A request from the Commander of the Sultan's Armed Forces (CSAF) for a small team of Royal Engineers to assist in the re-siting of outposts and the laying of mines around Simba
• An attack on Simba and the damage sustained to fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters belonging to the Sultan of Oman's Air Force (SOAF) and the Imperial Iranian Air Force (IIAF)
• A report by ground observers of the coordinates for the rebel positions around Simba
• The importance of the preservation of Simba Position for the security of northern Oman, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the implied consequences for the supply of oil to Britain
• A request from the Sultan for the direct involvement of the RAF in Oman bombing missions, the views of Foreign Secretary Sir Alec Douglas-Home and Prime Minister Edward Heath, and the response of the Secretary of Defence Lord Carrington to the request by Sultan Qaboos
• The bombing of Makinat Shihan by aircraft of the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen