Editing Oman (section)

=== Reign of Sultan Said (1932–1970) ===
[[File:Said bin Taimur (cropped).png|thumb|right|upright|Sultan [[Said bin Taimur]] ruled from 1932 to 1970]]
[[Said bin Taimur]] became the sultan of Muscat officially on 10 February 1932. The rule of sultan Said, a very complex character, was backed by the British government, and has been characterised as being [[feudal]], [[reactionary]] and isolationist.<ref name=OAOI/><ref name=OQ/><ref name=GR/><ref name=BA/> The British government maintained vast administrative control over the Sultanate as the defence secretary and chief of intelligence, chief adviser to the sultan and all ministers except for two were British.<ref name=GR>Ian Cobain. [https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/sep/08/britains-secret-wars-oman The Guardian: Britain's secret wars] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160930170522/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/sep/08/britains-secret-wars-oman |date=30 September 2016 }} Britain's Secret Wars. ''The Guardian''. 8 September 2016.</ref><ref name=Halliday>Fred Halliday. [https://books.google.com/books?id=VkYhBQAAQBAJ&dq=Fred%20Halliday%20arabia&pg=PT19 Arabia by Fred Halliday] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406013854/https://books.google.com/books?id=VkYhBQAAQBAJ&dq=Fred%20Halliday%20arabia&pg=PT19 |date=6 April 2023 }} Arabia. The Arabian Peninsula. Saqi Books. University of California. published 1974.</ref> In 1937, an agreement between the sultan and [[Iraq Petroleum Company]] (IPC), a consortium of oil companies that was 23.75% British owned, was signed to grant oil concessions to IPC. After failing to discover oil in the Sultanate, IPC was intensely interested in some promising geological formations near [[Fahud]], an area located within the Imamate. IPC offered financial support to the sultan to raise an armed force against any potential resistance by the Imamate.<ref name=OmansInsurgencies>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wkUhBQAAQBAJ&q=moff+oman&pg=PT59|title=Oman's Insurgencies: The Sultanate's Struggle for Supremacy|first=J. E.|last=Peterson|date=2 January 2013|publisher=Saqi|access-date=29 April 2018|via=Google Books|isbn=9780863567025|archive-date=11 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230211035638/https://books.google.com/books?id=wkUhBQAAQBAJ&q=moff+oman&pg=PT59|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=FTWAO>Historical Summary of Events in the Persian Gulf. {{cite web|url=https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023415996.0x000009|title=British National Archive: Historical Summary of Events in the Persian Gulf (208/222)|publisher=QDL|date=30 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723150646/https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023415996.0x000009|archive-date=23 July 2019}} British National Archive. Page 208.</ref>

Upon the outbreak of [[World War II]], the sultan of Oman declared war on Germany on September 10, 1939.<ref name="WWII"/> During the war, Oman had a strategic role in the defence of the United Kingdom's trade routes. Oman was never attacked during the war. In 1943, the [[Royal Air Force]] established stations on [[Masirah Island]] ([[RAF Masirah]]) and at [[Ras al Hadd]]. [[Air-sea rescue]] units were also stationed in Oman. [[No. 244 Squadron RAF]] flew [[Bristol Blenheim V]] [[light bomber]]s and [[Vickers Wellington XIII]]s out of RAF Masirah on anti-submarine duties in the Gulf of Oman and the northern [[Arabian Sea]], while [[No. 209 Squadron RAF]], [[No. 265 Squadron RAF]], and [[No. 321 Squadron RAF]] flew [[Consolidated PBY Catalina]]s out of Umm Ruşayş on Masirah Island.<ref name="RAF"/> On October 16, 1943, the German [[U-Boat]] ''[[German submarine U-533|U-533]]'' was sunk in the Gulf of Oman after being struck by [[depth charge]]s dropped by a Bristol Blenheim from No. 244 Squadron RAF. The wreck settled at a depth of 108 meters (354 feet) approximately 25 nautical miles (46 kilometres) off the [[Fujairah]] coast. 52 crew members died, with the sole survivor, ''[[Matrosengefreiter]]'' Günther Schmidt, taken aboard HMIS ''Hiravati'' near [[Khor Fakkan]] and made a [[prisoner of war]]. The wreck is now a popular recreational diving site.<ref name="UBoat"/><ref name="UBoat2"/>

The December 1951 Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation (covering commerce, oil reserves and navigation) between Oman and the United Kingdom recognized the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman as a fully independent state.

In 1955, the [[enclave and exclave|exclave]] coastal [[Makran]] strip acceded to Pakistan and was made a district of its [[Balochistan (Pakistan)|Balochistan province]], while [[Gwadar]] remained in Oman. On 8 September 1958, Pakistan [[Gwadar Purchase|purchased the Gwadar enclave]] from Oman for [[United States dollar|US$]]3&nbsp;million.<ref group=note>Gwadar remained an Omani possession as part of the Sultanate until September 1958</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oman.org/bonn_007.htm |title=International trade networks: The Omani Enclave of Gwadar – Conference on German and International Research on Oman, Bonn 1998: abstracts |author=Nicolin, Beatrice |date=25 May 1998 |publisher=Conference on German and International Research on Oman |location=Bonn |access-date=27 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200104031644/http://www.oman.org/bonn_007.htm |archive-date=4 January 2020}}</ref> Gwadar then became a [[tehsil]] in the Makran district.

====Jebel Akhdar War====
{{further|Jebel Akhdar War}}
Sultan Said bin Taimur expressed his interest in occupying the Imamate right after the death of Imam Alkhalili, thus taking advantage of any potential instability that might occur within the Imamate when elections were due, to the British government.<ref name=Planning>Muscat State Affairs. [https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100055776091.0x000046 A.C.Gallowey: ''File 8/62 Muscat State Affairs: Principal Shaikhs and Tribes of Oman' &#91;35r&#93; (69/296)''.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308132954/https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100055776091.0x000046 |date=8 March 2021 }} Principal Shaikhs and Tribes of Oman. British National Archive. Page 69. QDL.</ref> The British political agent in Muscat believed that the only method of gaining access to the oil reserves in the interior was by assisting the sultan in taking over the Imamate.<ref name=idea2>Muscat State Affairs. [https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100055776091.0x00009a British Consulate Muscat: File 8/62 Muscat State Affairs: Principal Shaikhs and Tribes of Oman.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308161726/https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100055776091.0x00009a |date=8 March 2021 }} British National Archive. File 8/62. Page 153. 25 May 1946. QDL.</ref> In 1946, the British government offered arms and ammunition, auxiliary supplies and officers to prepare the sultan to attack the interior of Oman.<ref name=RAFint>Muscat State Affairs. [https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100055776092.0x00005c The Foreign Office London: File 8/62 Muscat State Affairs: Principal Shaikhs and Tribes of Oman &#91;146r&#93; (291/296).] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308185519/https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100055776092.0x00005c |date=8 March 2021 }} British National Archive. Page 291. QDL.</ref> In May 1954, Imam Alkhalili died and [[Ghalib Alhinai]] was elected Imam.<ref>{{cite book|last=Peterson|first=John E.|title=Oman in the Twentieth Century: Political Foundations of an Emerging State|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YsUOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA182|publisher=Croom Helm|page=182|isbn=9780856646294|year=1978}}</ref> Relations between the Sultan Said bin Taimur, and Imam Ghalib Alhinai frayed over their dispute about oil concessions.

In December 1955, Sultan Said bin Taimur sent troops of the Muscat and Oman Field Force to occupy the main centres in Oman, including [[Nizwa]], the capital of the Imamate of Oman, and [[Ibri]].<ref name="smallwars"/><ref name=owaosa>Liquid Oman: oil, water, and causality in Southern Arabia. [https://rai.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1467-9655.12398 Liquid Oman: oil, water, and causality in Southern Arabia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117111638/https://rai.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1467-9655.12398 |date=17 January 2023 }} Royal Anthropological Institute. P. 147–162. 2016. City University of New York.</ref> The Omanis in the interior led by Imam Ghalib Alhinai, Talib Alhinai, the brother of the Imam and the Wali (governor) of Rustaq, and Suleiman bin Hamyar, who was the Wali (governor) of Jebel Akhdar, defended the Imamate in the [[Jebel Akhdar War]] against British-backed attacks by the Sultanate. In July 1957, the Sultan's forces were withdrawing, but they were repeatedly ambushed, sustaining heavy casualties.<ref name="smallwars"/> Sultan Said, however, with the intervention of British infantry (two companies of the [[Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)|Cameronians]]), armoured car detachments from the British Army and [[RAF]] aircraft, was able to suppress the rebellion.<ref name=secretops>{{cite book|last=Ryan|first=Mike|title=Secret Operations of the Sas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z8fiduMeiYAC&pg=PA68|publisher=Zenith Imprint|pages=68–70|year=2003|isbn=9780760314142}}{{Dead link|date=July 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The Imamate's forces retreated to the inaccessible [[Jebel Akhdar (Oman)|Jebel Akhdar]].<ref name=secretops/><ref name=OmansInsurgencies/>

Colonel [[David Smiley]], who had been seconded to organise the Sultan's Armed Forces, managed to isolate the mountain in autumn 1958 and found a route to the plateau from Wadi Bani Kharus.<ref name=modernhistoryowtram/> On 4 August 1957, the British Foreign Secretary gave the approval to carry out air strikes without prior warning to the locals residing in the interior of Oman.<ref name=BA/> Between July and December 1958, the British RAF made 1,635 raids, dropping 1,094 tons and firing 900 rockets at the interior of Oman targeting insurgents, mountain top villages, water channels and crops.<ref name=GR/><ref name=BA>Mark Curtis. [http://markcurtis.info/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/pro.Oman-1957-9.-Declassified.pdf British National Archives.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303221405/http://markcurtis.info/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/pro.Oman-1957-9.-Declassified.pdf |date=3 March 2021 }} Oman 1957-9. British National Archives. 2017.</ref> On 27 January 1959, the Sultanate's forces occupied the mountain in a surprise operation.<ref name=modernhistoryowtram/> Imam Ghalib, his brother Talib and Sulaiman managed to escape to [[Saudi Arabia]], where the Imamate's cause was promoted until the 1970s.<ref name=modernhistoryowtram>{{cite book|last=Owtram|first=Francis|title=A Modern History of Oman: Formation of the State since 1920|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=41h0bXfVtfYC&pg=PA106|publisher=I.B.Tauris|page=106|year=2004|isbn=9781860646171}}</ref> The exiled partisans of the now abolished Imamate of Oman presented the case of Oman to the [[Arab League]] and the United Nations.<ref name=LastImam>The Last Imam of Oman. [http://archive.arabic.cnn.com/2009/middle_east/12/1/imam.oman/index.html CNN Arabic: وفاة آخر أئمة عُمان في منفاه السياسي بالسعودية] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411114926/http://archive.arabic.cnn.com/2009/middle_east/12/1/imam.oman/index.html |date=11 April 2022 }} CNN Arabic News. 1 December 2009. Muscat, Oman.</ref><ref name=theNYTimes>10 Arab States Ask U.N. Debate On Oman. [https://www.nytimes.com/1960/10/01/archives/10-arab-states-ask-un-debate-on-oman.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FOman The New York Times. 01 October 1960.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117112308/https://www.nytimes.com/1960/10/01/archives/10-arab-states-ask-un-debate-on-oman.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FOman |date=17 January 2023 }} ''The New York Times''.</ref> On 11 December 1963, the UN General Assembly decided to establish an Ad-Hoc Committee on Oman to study the 'Question of Oman' and report back to the General Assembly.<ref name=Ad-Hoc>Question of Oman. [https://search.archives.un.org/uploads/r/united-nations-archives/0/9/5/0958bfcb1caaade73cd80426845d3d2743e4225cf8a9476b5783f22427ca28ec/S-0884-0014-13-00001.pdf United Nations Archives.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818110603/https://search.archives.un.org/uploads/r/united-nations-archives/0/9/5/0958bfcb1caaade73cd80426845d3d2743e4225cf8a9476b5783f22427ca28ec/S-0884-0014-13-00001.pdf |date=18 August 2021 }} United Nations Archives.</ref> The UN General Assembly adopted the 'Question of Oman' resolution in 1965, 1966 and again in 1967 that called upon the British government to cease all repressive action against the locals, end British control over Oman and reaffirmed the inalienable right of the Omani people to self-determination and independence.<ref name=firstResAd>20th Session Adopted Resolutions. [https://research.un.org/en/docs/ga/quick/regular/20 United Nations: ''20th Session Adopted Resolutions''.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220517102749/https://research.un.org/en/docs/ga/quick/regular/20 |date=17 May 2022 }} United Nations. 20 September – 20 December 1965.</ref><ref name=firstresolutiondetails>2073 Question of Oman. [https://undocs.org/en/A/RES/2073(XX) United Nations: ''2073 Question of Oman''.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308050835/https://undocs.org/en/A/RES/2073(XX) |date=8 March 2021 }} United Nations. 17 December 1965.</ref><ref name=QoO>2302 Question of Oman. [https://undocs.org/en/A/RES/2302(XXII) United Nations: ''2302 Question of Oman''.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026094228/https://undocs.org/en/A/RES/2302(XXII) |date=26 October 2021 }} United Nations. 12 December 1967.</ref><ref name=ResAd>22nd Session Adopted Resolutions. [https://research.un.org/en/docs/ga/quick/regular/22 United Nations: ''22nd Session Adopted Resolutions''.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220517102610/https://research.un.org/en/docs/ga/quick/regular/22 |date=17 May 2022 }} United Nations. 19 September – 19 December 1967.</ref><ref name=UN1966>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldlii.org/int/other/UNGA/1966/112.pdf|title=UN 2238 Question of Oman Resolution (1966)|author=UN General Assembly|publisher=worldlii|access-date=27 August 2019|archive-date=7 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307184811/http://www.worldlii.org/int/other/UNGA/1966/112.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=UN1966resolutions>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldlii.org/int/other/UNGA/1966/|title=UN Adopted Resolutions (1966)|author=UN General Assembly|publisher=worldlii|access-date=27 August 2019|archive-date=25 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220425044515/http://www.worldlii.org/int/other/UNGA/1966/|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Dhofar War====
{{further|Dhofar War}}
In the [[Dhofar War]], which began in 1963, pro-[[Soviet Union|Soviet]] forces were pitted against government troops. As the rebellion threatened the Sultan's control of [[Dhofar]], Sultan Said bin Taimur was deposed in a [[1970 Omani coup d'état|bloodless coup]] in 1970 by his son [[Qaboos bin Said]] with [[United Kingdom|British]] support. Qaboos expanded the [[Sultan of Oman's Armed Forces]], modernized the state's administration and introduced social reforms. The uprising was finally put down in 1976 with the help of forces from Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan and Britain.