Iran top diplomat in Oman on second leg of Gulf tour

Muscat, Oman (AFP):

Iran’s top diplomat arrived Wednesday in Oman where he is to meet senior officials, a day after discussing his country’s nuclear programme with his Qatari counterpart in Doha.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian is on a tour of the Gulf that will see the Iranian foreign minister also making stops later in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.

On Wednesday, he met Sultan bin Mohammed al Numani, minister of Oman’s royal office, for talks on ties between their countries and “several areas of cooperation”, the official Oman News Agency said.

Iran said last week it had been engaged in indirect negotiations with the United States through Oman, with nuclear issues, US sanctions and detainees on the agenda.

The following day, Iran’s nuclear negotiator said he had met with diplomats from three European countries in Abu Dhabi to discuss a number of issues including the country’s nuclear programme.

A landmark deal reached in 2015 between Iran and world powers was designed to prevent Tehran from secretly developing a nuclear bomb, a goal the Islamic republic has always denied.

The United States under then-president Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the accord in 2018, before Iran began backing away from its own commitments, including by stepping up its enrichment of uranium.

The administration of US President Joe Biden has sought to revive the deal, but the process has stalled in on-off talks since 2021.

In recent weeks, the two sworn enemies have denied media reports that they were close to reaching an interim deal to replace the 2015 accord.