GHALA, Oman: Omani Mahmoud bin Yousef Temtemi found himself in a pastoral predicament this autumn — his neighbor’s flock of sheep had overrun his farm and gobbled up his crops, threatening his income.
Rather than make a scene or turn to the police, Temtemi chose to raise his complaint in Omani tradition: through the local “sabla,” or council.
Dressed in a robe and embroidered cap, Temtemi took his place on a sunny Friday morning at his neighborhood sabla in the village of Ghala — held outdoors on a patch of sidewalk.
“The farm is our livelihood,” Temtemi told an AFP correspondent attending the meeting. “I told myself I would lodge a complaint at the sabla, where the owner of the sheep would be present.”
In Ghala, just outside the capital Muscat, the sheikh humbly brings breakfast for meetings of the council. The youngest serves coffee.
The fellowship broke the ice for the mediation Temtemi sought. Acknowledging a problem needed to be solved, the men filed over to the meeting hall — a sparse room with little more than benches built into the walls.
The elders listened to the farmer’s story, discussed, then decided on compensation from the sheep owner.
“He will pay 150 riyals ($390) and keep an eye on his sheep,” said a satisfied Temtemi.
Oman’s sabla is a unique form of consensus building that many see as central to the Gulf nation’s traditions, and which some want to see adapted to the age of the smartphone.
“This council is where the old and young come to learn. The youth learn manners from their elders,” grey-bearded Sayeed bin Khalfan Nabhani said in Ghala.
Nabhani said the history of the sabla goes back “ages,” but some 40 years ago — after Sultan Qaboos took power in Oman — it was granted a degree of government recognition.
“From the early 1970s, you had the governor and judge sitting at the council, along with witnesses and people of the villages — plus the person with the problem,” said Nabhani.
A solution is often found before the judge is called to get involved, he said.
In far-flung areas, the sabla remains central to life, but even there it is changing, with women for example reserving the hall for their own meetings.
Hilal Al-Siyabi, an Omani community activist, believes the sabla can — and should — keep up with the times.
In the lush Muscat suburb of Saael, a new kind of sabla is under construction.
A shell of a building stood off the main road, a mountain range in the background.
Siyabi’s voice echoed as he pointed to where LCD screens would be installed and computers set up for a future Internet cafe.
“We are leveraging on the concept of sabla to do something much better — something which is beneficial to today’s community,” he said.
This center would embrace the whole family, he explained, with a special emphasis on the young.
Siyabi said an exploratory meeting three years earlier was packed with curious residents — notably women.
“Young women,” he said. “They were excited to have such a center. They said, ‘We are not working but we are going to sell our precious gold to contribute to something like this.’“
Siyabi said the government has fully supported the initiative, which seeks to build on tradition in a changing world and keep conflict resolution local.
He sees the sabla evolving from its role as a mediation authority to a town hall-style forum and community center.
For Muscat-based public policy analyst Ahmed Al-Mukhaini, the sabla is a “microcosm” of the Omani state: discreet and tribal.
“You don’t hang out your dirty linen,” Mukhaini said, adding it was no surprise the government supports the continuation of the sabla.
Under Sultan Qaboos, Oman has not replaced the sabla — now a “benign form of assembly,” the analyst said, but institutionalized it, with modern forms of government continuing to function in the same patriarchical and hierarchical way.
“In Oman they spend a lot of time on consensus building, versus majority-based decisions,” Mukhaini said.
Authorities in Muscat continue to recognize tribal chiefs as official representatives, registered with the interior ministry.
Each tribe’s “rasheed,” or interlocutor, functions as a conduit to the government, often feeling out sentiment on domestic policy changes, such as recent health care privatization proposals.
“I’m not aware of any other country where tribal leaders are on a payroll or where the system of sheikhdom is controlled by the government,” Mukhaini said.
Even the modern Shoura council, Oman’s only elected body, is dominated by tribal heavyweights — not the technocrats and intellectuals found in the council of state appointed by the sultan.
“The system that remains until now keeps tabs on public opinion or resentment,” said the analyst.
When Qaboos overthrew his father in a bloodless coup in 1970, the British-educated ruler reached out to the tribes in an early radio address, reassuring tribal leaders and promising to institutionalize their role.
The sabla is so important to Omani culture that it will even decide who will succeed the 77-year-old sultan when he dies.
“Basic law gives the appointment of the next sultan to the royal family sabla,” Mukhaini said.
If the cousins of Qaboos — he has no brothers or heir apparent — fail to choose a successor within a matter of days, Mukhaini said it will fall to the defense council, chief justice and Shoura council to reach a consensus, this time on behalf of the nation.
In Oman, an ancient mediation method gets a makeover
In Oman, an ancient mediation method gets a makeover
‘Enough escalation. Time to stop,’ UN chief says after Israel-Iran strikes
- Peace and diplomacy must prevail,” Antonio Guterres said on X after Israel’s “preemptive” strikes on Iran and Tehran’s counter-attack
UNITED NATIONS, United States: The UN chief called Friday for Israel and Iran to halt their escalating conflict, after the two countries exchanged a barrage of missiles.
“Enough escalation. Time to stop. Peace and diplomacy must prevail,” Antonio Guterres said on X after Israel’s “preemptive” strikes on Iran and Tehran’s counter-attack.
At UN, Iran accuses US of being complicit in Israeli strikes
- Council the above-ground pilot enrichment plant at Iran's Natanz nuclear site had been destroyed, and that Iran has reported that nuclear sites at Fordow and Isfahan were also attacked
UNITED NATIONS: Iran accused the United States of being complicit in Israel's attacks on the Islamic Republic, which Washington denied, telling Tehran at the United Nations Security Council that it would "be wise" to negotiate over its nuclear programme. Iran launched retaliatory strikes on Israel late on Friday after Israel attacked Iran earlier in the day.
Israel's U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon said Iran had been "preparing for war" and Israel's strikes were "an act of national preservation." His Iranian counterpart, Amir Saeid Iravani, accused Israel of seeking "to kill diplomacy, to sabotage negotiations, and to drag the region into wider conflict," and he said Washington's complicity was "beyond doubt". "Those who support this regime, with the United States at the forefront, must understand that they are complicit," Iravani told the Security Council. "By aiding and enabling these crimes, they share full responsibility for the consequences."
HIGHLIGHTS
• UN Security Council met over Israel's strikes on Iran
• US says Iran would 'be wise' to negotiate on nuclear program
• Iran accuses US of being complicit in Israel's strikes
U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that he had given Tehran a 60-day ultimatum, which expired on Thursday, to make a deal over its escalating uranium enrichment program. A sixth round of U.S.-Iran talks had been scheduled to take place in Oman on Sunday, but it was unclear whether it would go ahead. Danon said Israel had been patient despite mounting risks.
"We waited for diplomacy to work ... We watched negotiations stretch on, as Iran made false concessions or refused the most fundamental conditions," Danon told the Security Council. He said intelligence had confirmed Iran could have produced enough fissile material for multiple bombs within days.
Senior U.S. official McCoy Pitt said the United States will continue to seek a diplomatic resolution that ensures Iran will never acquire a nuclear weapon or pose a threat to stability in the Middle East. "Iran's leadership would be wise to negotiate at this time," Pitt told the council. While Washington was informed of Israel's initial strikes ahead of time it was not militarily involved, he said. U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi told the Security Council the above-ground pilot enrichment plant at Iran's Natanz nuclear site had been destroyed, and that Iran has reported that nuclear sites at Fordow and Isfahan were also attacked.
US helps Israel shoot down barrage of Iranian missiles
- US also is shifting military resources, including ships, in the Middle East in response to the strikes
- About 40,000 troops are in the Mideast region now, according to a US official
WASHINGTON: American air defense systems and Navy assets in the Middle East helped Israel shoot down incoming ballistic missiles Friday that Tehran launched in response to Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities and top military leaders, US officials said.
The US has both ground-based Patriot missile defense systems and Terminal High Altitude Air Defense systems in the region capable of intercepting ballistic missiles, which Iran fired in multiple barrages in retaliation for Israel’s initial attack.
Naval assets also were involved in assisting Israel as Iran fired missiles at Tel Aviv, one official said. It was not immediately clear if ships fired interceptors or if their advanced missile tracking systems helped Israel identify incoming targets.
The United States also is shifting military resources, including ships, in the Middle East in response to the strikes.
The Navy has directed the destroyer USS Thomas Hudner, which is capable of defending against ballistic missiles, to begin sailing from the western Mediterranean Sea toward the eastern Mediterranean and has directed a second destroyer to begin moving forward so it can be available if requested by the White House, US officials said.
American fighter jets also are patrolling the sky in the Middle East to protect personnel and installations, and air bases in the region are taking additional security precautions, the officials said.
The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details not yet made public or to discuss ongoing operations.
President Donald Trump met with his National Security Council principals Friday to discuss options.
The forces in the region have been taking precautionary measures for days, including having military dependents voluntarily depart regional bases, in anticipation of the strikes and to protect personnel in case of a large-scale response from Tehran.
Typically around 30,000 troops are based in the Middle East, and about 40,000 troops are in the region now, according to a US official. That number surged as high as 43,000 last October amid the ongoing tensions between Israel and Iran as well as continuous attacks on commercial and military ships in the Red Sea by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen.
The Navy has additional assets that it could surge to the Middle East if needed, particularly its aircraft carriers and the warships that sail with them. The USS Carl Vinson is in the Arabian Sea — the only aircraft carrier in the region.
The carrier USS Nimitz is in the Indo-Pacific and could be directed toward the Middle East if needed, and the USS George Washington just left its port in Japan and could also be directed to the region if so ordered, one of the officials said.
Then-President Joe Biden initially surged ships to protect Israel following the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas that launched the war in Gaza. It was seen as a deterrent against Hezbollah and Iran at the time.
On Oct. 1, 2024, US Navy destroyers fired about a dozen interceptors in defense of Israel as the country came under attack by more than 200 missiles fired by Iran.
Iran’s top military commanders, 6 nuclear scientists among 78 killed in Israeli strikes
- Khamenei, Revolutionary Guards warn Israel of “harsh punishment” for its attacks
- Dead scientists identified as Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi
RIYADH: Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei confirmed on Friday that several military commanders and scientists were “martyred” in Israeli strikes on Tehran.
In a statement carried on state television, Khamenei warned that Israel will not go unpunished for its attacks.
“We will not allow them to escape safely from this great crime they committed,” Khamenei said in a recorded message.
“With this crime, the Zionist regime has prepared for itself a bitter, painful fate, which it will definitely see.”
Iran’s UN ambassador said 78 people were killed and more than 320 wounded in Israeli attacks.
Among those killed were four of Iran’s top military leaders.
State television and local media identified them as General Bagheri, chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces; Major General Hossein Salami, commander in chief of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, or IRGC; Major General Gholam Ali Rashid, commander of Khatam-al Anbiya Central Headquarters; and Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the IRGC of the IRGC Aerospace Force.
Iran’s Nournews reported that Ali Shamkhani, a rear admiral who serves as adviser to Khamenei, was “critically injured.”
Local media confirmed that six scientists working on Iran’s nuclear program were killed, four of them identified as Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani, Mohammad Mehdi Tehranch, Ahmad Reza Zolfaghari, and Amirhossein Feqhi.
New appointments
Immediately after the strike, Khomenei appointed Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi, as the new chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces. Mousavi, the army commander since 2017, replaced Bagheri
Replacing Mousavi as army chief was Brigadier General Amir Hatami, who was promoted to the rank of major general.
Major General Mohammad Pakpour was appointed as the new IRGC chief, replacing “martyred” Salami.
As Pakpour assumed his new post, he warned the Israeli regime to brace for a painful fate.
“The criminal and illegitimate Zionist regime will suffer a bitter and painful fate with huge and destructive consequences,” Iran’s Tasnim News agency quoted Pakpour as saying in a letter to Supreme Leader Khamenei.
With the help of God, the gates of hell will soon be opened upon this child-killing regime, he wrote.
Below is a list of the commanders and scientists killed:
Mohammad Bagheri
A former IRGC commander, Major General Bagheri was chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces from 2016. Born in 1960, Bagheri joined the Guards during the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s.
Hossein Salami
Salami was commander-in-chief of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards Corps, or IRGC. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appointed Salami, who was born in 1960, as head of the IRGC in 2019.
Amir Ali Hajizadeh
Hajizadeh was the head of the Revolutionary Guards’ Aerospace Force. Israel has identified him as the central figure responsible for directing aerial attacks against its territory. In 2020, Hajizadeh took responsibility for the downing of a Ukrainian passenger plane, which occurred shortly after Iran launched missile strikes on US targets in Iraq in retaliation for the US drone strike that killed Qassem Soleimani.
Gholamali Rashid
Major General Rashid was head of the IRGC’s Khatam al Anbia headquarters. He previously served as deputy chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, and fought for Iran during the 1980s war with Iraq.
Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani
Abbasi, a nuclear scientist, served as head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization from 2011 to 2013. A hardliner, Abbasi was a member of parliament from 2020 to 2024.
Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi
Tehranchi, a nuclear scientist, was head of Iran’s Islamic Azad University in Tehran.
Ahmad Reza Zolfaghari
Ahmad Reza Zolfaghari, a nuclear engineering professor at Shahid Beheshti University.
Amirhossein Feqhi
Amirhossein Feqhi, another nuclear professor at Shahid Beheshti University.
Trump says Iran has ‘second chance’ to come to nuclear deal after Israeli strikes devastate Tehran
- Trump, in the hours before the Israeli attack on Iran, still appeared hopeful in public comments that there would be more time for diplomacy
- Iran late Friday launched hundreds of ballistic missiles toward Israel after firing dozens of drones earlier in the day
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Friday urged Iran to quickly reach an agreement on curbing its nuclear program as Israel vowed to continue its bombardment of the country.
Trumped framed the volatile moment in the Middle East as a possible “second chance” for Iran’s leadership to avoid further destruction “before there is nothing left and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire.”
The Republican president pressed on Iran as he met his national security team in the Situation Room to discuss the tricky path forward following Israel’s devastating strikes, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to keep up for “as many days as it takes” to decapitate Iran’s nuclear program.
The White House said it had no involvement in the strikes, but Trump highlighted that Israel used its deep arsenal of weaponry provided by the US to target Iran’s main enrichment facility in Natanz and the country’s ballistic missile program, as well as top nuclear scientists and officials.
Trump said on his Truth Social platform that he had warned Iran’s leaders that “it would be much worse than anything they know, anticipated, or were told, that the United States makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the World, BY FAR, and that Israel has a lot of it, with much more to come — And they know how to use it.”
Just hours before Israel launched its strikes on Iran early Friday, Trump was still holding onto tattered threads of hope that the long-simmering dispute could be resolved without military action. Now, he’ll be tested anew on his ability to make good on a campaign promise to disentangle the US from foreign conflicts.
In the aftermath of the Israeli strikes, the US is shifting its military resources, including ships, in the Middle East as it looks to guard against possible retaliatory attacks by Tehran, according to two US officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
The Navy has directed the destroyer USS Thomas Hudner to begin sailing toward the Eastern Mediterranean and has directed a second destroyer to begin moving forward, so it can be available if requested by the White House.
As Israel stepped up planning for strikes in recent weeks, Iran had signaled the United States would be held responsible in the event of an Israeli attack. The warning was issued by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi even as he engaged in talks with Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program.
Friday’s strikes came as Trump planned to dispatch Witkoff to Oman on Sunday for the next round of talks with the Iranian foreign minister.
Witkoff still plans to go to Oman this weekend for talks on Tehran’s nuclear program, but it’s unclear if the Iranians will participate, according to US officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private diplomatic discussions.
The president made a series of phone calls Friday to US television news anchors to renew his calls on Iran to curb its nuclear program.
CNN’s Dana Bash said Trump told her the Iranians “should now come to the table” and get a deal done. And Trump told NBC News that Iranian officials are “calling me to speak” but didn’t provide further detail.
Trump also spoke Friday with British Prime Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron about the evolving situation, as well as Netanyahu.
Meanwhile, oil prices leapt and stocks fell on worries that the escalating violence could impact the flow of crude around the world, along with the global economy.
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, offered rare words of Democratic praise for the Trump administration after the attack “for prioritizing diplomacy” and “refraining from participating” in the military strikes. But he also expressed deep concern about what the Israeli strikes could mean for US personnel in the region.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who’s on Democrats’ shortlist for top 2028 White House contenders, said if Israel can set back Iran’s nuclear program with the strikes “it’s probably a good day for the world.”
“But make no mistake: We do not want an all-out war in the Middle East,” Shapiro said. “That’s not only bad for the Middle East, it’s destabilizing for the globe, and it’s something that I hope will not occur.”
Iran late Friday launched hundreds of ballistic missiles toward Israel after firing dozens of drones earlier in the day. The US military assisted Israel intercept the missiles fired by Iran in the retaliatory attack.
Trump, in the hours before the Israeli attack on Iran, still appeared hopeful in public comments that there would be more time for diplomacy.
But it was clear to the administration that Israel was edging toward taking military action against Iran. The State Department and US military on Wednesday directed a voluntary evacuation of nonessential personnel and their loved ones from some US diplomatic outposts in the Middle East.
Before Israel launched the strikes, some of Trump’s strongest supporters were raising concerns about what another expansive conflict in the Mideast could mean for the Republican president, who ran on a promise to quickly end the brutal wars in Gaza and Ukraine.
Trump has struggled to find an endgame to either of those conflicts and to make good on two of his biggest foreign policy campaign promises.
And after criticizing President Joe Biden during last year’s campaign for preventing Israel from carrying out strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, Trump found himself making the case to the Israelis to give diplomacy a chance.
The push by the Trump administration to persuade Tehran to give up its nuclear program came after the US and other world powers in 2015 reached a long-term, comprehensive nuclear agreement that limited Tehran’s enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.
But Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the Obama administration-brokered agreement in 2018, calling it the “worst deal ever.”
The way forward is even more clouded now.
“No issue currently divides the right as much as foreign policy,” Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA and an ally of the Trump White House, posted on X on Thursday. “I’m very concerned based on (everything) I’ve seen in the grassroots the last few months that this will cause a massive schism in MAGA and potentially disrupt our momentum and our insanely successful Presidency.”
