ByNews Desk- The Cradle
The Iranian FM traveled to Oman during his tour, as Muscat has been mediating indirect nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington
Amir-Abdollahian “conveyed … greetings from [President] Ebrahim Raisi … who expressed his wishes for continued progress and prosperity in the UAE,” with the two discussing bilateral ties, regional development, and ways to “enhance cooperation,” Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported.
The night before, on 21 June, Amir-Abdollahian was in Kuwait meeting with the country’s Prime Minister Ahmad Nawaf al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.
He also met with his Kuwaiti counterpart, Salem Abdullah al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who welcomed “the expansion of Iran’s relations with the Gulf states … this is in the interest of all.”
The Kuwaiti foreign minister added that relations between Tehran and Kuwait City are “deep-rooted” and that “simple problems can be solved.”
In turn, Abdollahian said that there is “no limit” to the development of Iran’s ties with Kuwait.
That day, the Iranian diplomat had landed in the Omani capital Muscat, holding “constructive” talks with his counterpart Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Al-Busaidi.
The visit came right after Amir-Abdollahian’s trip to Qatar.
Amir-Abdollahian’s meeting with Busaidi revolved around “continued consultations and cooperation” regarding bilateral issues.
“There is great consensus in the visions of the two states on a series of issues… that will contribute to stability, security, and peace,” Busaidi was quoted as saying by Omani state media.
Abdollahian referred to the meeting with Busaidi as “constructive,” praising the cooperation between the two countries.
The visit comes as Oman has been mediating indirect negotiations between Washington and Tehran regarding the potential restoration of a nuclear agreement, which would provide the Iranians with significant sanctions relief in exchange for it curbing aspects of its nuclear program.
“I had a serious and constructive meeting with Enrique Mora (EU coordinator of Iran nuclear talks) in Doha. We discussed and exchanged opinions on a range of issues, including negotiations to lift sanctions,” Amir-Abdollahian said on social media.
This was confirmed by an EU spokesperson, who said that diplomatic channels would stay open.
Recently, reports emerged suggesting that an ‘interim deal’ has been reached – which both the US and Iran have denied.
Additionally, recent reports suggested that a prisoner release deal was imminent. This deal had been in the works in previous years and would potentially unfreeze significant amounts of Iranian assets in exchange for the release of three Iranian-Americans being held in the Islamic Republic.
On 16 June, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken referred to these reports of an interim deal and a prisoner release agreement as “simply not accurate and not true.”
It remains unclear what progress has been made regarding a sanctions removal deal.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry recently claimed that talks with the US were never secret and that diplomatic channels were always open.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has recently ruled that traces of near-weapons grade uranium found in the country were only residual and not intended for use in making a nuclear bomb.
In August 2022, Tehran and Washington got closer to reaching a deal than ever before after talks resumed following an EU-drafted proposal to revive the 2015 nuclear deal under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which former US president Donald Trump withdrew from in 2018.
Not long after, efforts stalled once again as the result of a coordinated Israeli pressure campaign aimed at preventing Washington from going through with an agreement. The revival of the deal ultimately failed, as western-sponsored civil unrest began to unfold on the streets of the Islamic Republic.
Israel has recently continued to stand against any potential agreement and has persisted with threats of war against Iran.
Iran is a member of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) of 1968 and adheres to a religious decree issued by the country’s supreme leader, effectively outlawing any type of nuclear weaponry.
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