DOHA, March 23. /TASS/. Iran is not to blame for the recent escalation of the military conflict in the Middle East, Foreign Minister of Oman Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, stated on Monday.

"Whatever your view of Iran, this war is not of their making," the top diplomat of Oman stated on his X social network account.

"This is already causing widespread economic problems and I fear they promise to get much worse if the war continues," the Omani minister continued.

"Oman is working intensively to put in place safe passage arrangements for the Strait of Hormuz," Foreign Minister of Oman Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi added.

The United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran on February 28. Major Iranian cities, including Tehran, were struck. The White House justified the attack by citing alleged missile and nuclear threats from Iran.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced a retaliatory operation, targeting sites in Israel. US military bases in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE were also hit. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and some other key Iranian leaders were killed in the joint US-Israeli attack.