Political relations between Oman and Iran

This file concerns relations between Oman and Iran, and the rebellion in Dhofar. It contains correspondence on:

• The operations of the Sultan's Armed Force; and the capture of Shershitti
• News of the deployment of Iranian forces in western Dhofar, obtained via a telegram from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Oman (PFLO) to Iraq’s President Ahmad Hasan Al Bakr
• The claim that Iran is acting as a ‘spearhead’ for the Americans against Arabs, according to PFLO leader Mohammad Saif
• A report on shortcomings in the fighting capability of the Iranian force
• A naval agreement between Oman and Iran concerning the Straits of Hormuz reported in the Middle East Economic Digest dated 10 January 1975; the Sultan’s denial carried in the Beirut weekly Al Hawadess; and an assessment of the report by Paul Molineaux of the US State Department
• Reports by Jim Hoagland in the International Herald Tribune from December 1974 and January 1975
• Reports, including of an Oman-Iranian air agreement, in the New York Times dated 3 and 7 February 1975
• Iranian media reports of the capture of Rakhyut by Iranian forces
• Media extracts of comments on Oman made by the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi
• A copy of a pamphlet handed out at a demonstration of Iranian students in Miami, protesting at Iranian and American involvement in Oman
• An enquiry from Iran about whether Darbat Ali is in Yemen or Oman
• The interest shown by Iranian officials in maps held at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office library in Cornwall House
• A cultural agreement between Oman and Iran
• Comments made by King Hussein Bin Talal of Jordan to the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi concerning Jordanian withdrawal from Dhofar
• The Shah’s offer to speak to the Sultan of Oman Qaboos Bin Saeed Al Said concerning his personal extravagance, and about his foreign advisors known as the ‘Oman Mafia’; a visit to Oman by Amir Khosrow Afshar

This file also contains reference to:

• Iraq’s military campaign in Kurdistan, and Iran’s involvement there
• The visit of Oman’s Minister of Agriculture Saeed Al Shanfari to Europe and Canada