Aden, Yemen – Recent statements made by Salem al-Khanbashi, the former governor of Hadramawt and former Yemeni deputy prime minister, during a televised interview, have sparked a wave of complex geopolitical analyses and questions regarding the nature of Oman’s role in the Yemeni conflict. Specifically, the questions have focused on Oman’s role in southern Yemen.
Al-Khanbashi spoke frankly about the Sultanate of Oman’s firm stance during the current political crisis. He also revealed for the first time that Omani warplanes actively participated in monitoring the events unfolding in Hadramawt. He explained that the aircraft conducted intensive sorties over the province, taking off from military bases in the border city of Salalah. Furthermore, Al-Khanbashi clarified that the Omani air operations were intended to monitor the situation and intervene should any threat arise to the security of central state institutions. Specifically, this was in response to the ground movements of the Southern Transitional Council.
The Sultanate of Oman views the governorates of Al-Mahra and Hadramawt strategically as vital to its security and national interests. Therefore, it completely rejects the Southern Transitional Council’s project calling for the secession of southern Yemen from the north.
Al-Khanbashi also claimed on the “Yemen Podcast” that he had repeatedly and publicly advised the Southern Transitional Council forces to withdraw immediately from Hadramawt Governorate to avoid an imminent military escalation. He indicated that these forces initially ignored this advice and these calls, thus complicating the situation on the ground.
In his first analytical commentary on these developments, prominent political analyst Hani Mas’hour asserted that Salem al-Khanbashi’s remarks raise numerous questions and doubts regarding their timing and motives.
Mas’hour pointed out that the Sultanate of Oman has been known throughout the long years of the Yemeni crisis for playing the role of a neutral and trusted political mediator between all parties, while not being a military party involved in the Arab coalition or direct combat operations.
Mashhour stressed that such serious and grave accusations, which impinge on sovereignty and regional positions, require clear and documented evidence to substantiate their accuracy, rather than issuing unsubstantiated statements that could further complicate the political landscape. Such statements could also exacerbate regional and local polarization in Yemen’s eastern provinces, which are already experiencing heightened tensions due to the escalating strategic power struggle there.
