Biden thanks Oman for help in releasing Americans detained in Iran, Yemen truce

US President Joe Biden thanked Oman on Tuesday for its role in securing the release of Americans detained in Iran and for Muscat’s help in achieving a truce in Yemen.

The White House said Biden and the Sultan of Oman, Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, had a call where the two reaffirmed the historical ties between the two countries.

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They also discussed mutual efforts to forge a more prosperous, peaceful, and integrated Middle East region, the White House said in a readout of the call.

“President Biden thanked Sultan Haitham for his personal leadership and support for the UN-mediated truce in Yemen, which over the past year has witnessed its longest period of calm since the war began over a decade ago,” the statement read.

The internationally-recognized Yemeni government and the Houthi militia have been locked in a yearslong war after the Iran-backed group seized control of the capital Sanaa in 2014.

A UN-brokered truce that began on April 2 last year expired on October 2 after the Houthis refused to extend.

Separately, Biden welcomed Oman’s move to open its airspace to all civilian aircraft, including ones from and to Israel.

Biden also thanked Oman for its “historic role” in helping secure the release of wrongfully detained Americans in Iran. The statement did not elaborate, but Oman has traditionally played a mediating role between Washington and Tehran.

Read more: US commends Oman’s decision to open airspace to Israel