News

Iran's relations with the West took another turn for the worse this week when the EU agreed to impose an embargo on Iranian oil. One key player in the increasingly tense stand-off is the Gulf state of Oman.

It is in the almost unique position of having good relations with both Iran and the West, and also lies on the strategically important shipping lane, the Strait of Hormuz.

Speaking to the BBC's world affairs editor, John Simpson, Oman's minister of foreign affairs, Yusif Bin Alawi, spoke of the possibility of the current crisis escalating.