Sultan of Oman to make state visit to UK, balancing pressures from US and Iran

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LONDON (AP) — The Sultan of Oman will visit Britain for a three-day state visit next month as the Arab nation that controls the southern shore of the Strait of Hormuz comes under pressure from both the U.S. and Iran.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla will host Sultan Haitham bin Tarik at Windsor Castle from Oct. 20 to Oct. 22, Buckingham Palace said in a statement Thursday. Details of the visit were not released.

Britain uses state visits to reward friends and cajole reluctant allies by honoring visiting heads of state with all the pomp and ceremony the monarchy can muster. They usually include a ride in a horse-drawn carriage, reviewing the troops and a lavish state dinner hosted by the king, as well as bilateral meetings with senior government officials.

While the king formally invites fellow heads of state for such visits, they are carried out at the request of the elected government. Visits are usually planned months in advance.

News of Sultan Haitham’s trip to Britain comes after U.S. President Donald Trump last month threatened to bomb Oman as it appeared close to making a deal with Iran to manage ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway through which 20% of the world’s oil and natural gas flowed before the war in the Middle East.

Charles received the Oxford-educated sultan for tea at Windsor Castle when he made a private visit to Britain last year. The last state visit by a sultan of Oman took place in March 1982, when Queen Elizabeth II hosted Sultan Qaboos bin Said.