Oman Sees Prospects of Talks Between Iran and U.S.
◢ Oman is working to reduce tensions in the Persian Gulf and sees prospects of talks between arch-rivals Iran and the U.S., its foreign minister said. “We are in touch with the U.S. and Iran,” Yousef Bin Alawi, Oman’s foreign minister, was cited as saying on Sunday at the Munich Security Conference.
By Golnar Motevalli and Abbas Al Lawati
Oman is working to reduce tensions in the Persian Gulf and sees prospects of talks between arch-rivals Iran and the U.S., its foreign minister said.
“We are in touch with the U.S. and Iran,” Yousef Bin Alawi, Oman’s foreign minister, was cited as saying on Sunday by the state-run Oman News Agency at the Munich Security Conference. “We feel that there is a possibility of dialogue between them.”
“We don’t expect military military confrontation in the region at the moment,” Bin Alawi added.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in a press briefing in Tehran that “there is no complicated, unresolvable issue between Iran and Saudi Arabia,” but as far as the U.S. is concerned, his country will “never come to the negotiating table in weakness.”
Rouhani’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, told journalists at the Munich conference that Saudia Arabia showed willingness to hold talks shortly after the U.S. killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike, state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
Tehran replied positively to Riyadh’s overture, but Saudi officials didn’t continue the exchange, IRNA reported, citing comments Zarif made to reporters at the conference on Saturday.Tensions in the Persian Gulf escalated after the Soleimani killing on Jan. 3. He was Iran’s most senior military commander and a driving force of the country’s strategy of building a network of proxy forces to counter the U.S. in the region.
Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal Bin Farhan Al Saud denied any talks and accused Iran of behaving in a way that threatens global security, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported.
Photo: IRNA
Oman Top Diplomat in Iran for Second Time Within Week
◢ Iran's top diplomat Mohammad Javad Zarif hosted his Omani counterpart Yusuf bin Alawi on Sunday for the second time within a week for talks on security in the sensitive Persian Gulf. Alawi was making the visit to Tehran on the tail end of his trip to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.
Iran's top diplomat Mohammad Javad Zarif hosted his Omani counterpart Yusuf bin Alawi on Sunday for the second time within a week for talks on security in the sensitive Persian Gulf.
Alawi was making the visit to Tehran on the tail end of his trip to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.
Zarif and Alawi discussed "bilateral cooperation regarding the Strait of Hormuz and emphasized their governments' will... to guarantee maritime and energy security for all," Iran's foreign ministry said in a statement.
It was their second meeting in the Iranian capital since Tuesday and at least their fourth encounter since late July.
Zarif's withdrawal from Davos was due to "unilateral changes in mutually agreed arrangements on part of WEF", Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said in a tweet.
The spokesman lamented that it was a "missed opportunity for dialogue".
Tensions have soared in the region and especially between Tehran and Washington since a US drone strike killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad on January 3.
Iran retaliated five days later by launching a wave of missiles at US troops stationed in Iraq.
Tehran had been on high alert hours later when its air defenses mistakenly shot down a Ukraine International Airlines passenger jet, killing all 176 people on board.
Oman has often acted as a mediator between Iran and its regional foes and also played a key role in facilitating talks involving the United States that lead to the 2016 nuclear deal.
US President Donald Trump's administration withdrew from the agreement in 2018 and began reimposing sanctions on the Islamic republic, which retaliated by scaling back some of its nuclear commitments.
Photo: IRNA
Iran Tells Oman Neighbors Have Made Talks Impossible
◢ Iran's neighbors have made talks impossible through their "hasty and arrogant moves", a top security official told Oman's foreign minister in Tehran on Saturday amid a tanker crisis. Oman, a past mediator between Iran and its foes, sent its top diplomat to the Islamic republic amid amplified tensions between Iran and the United States and its allies, including in the Persian Gulf.
Iran's neighbors have made talks impossible through their "hasty and arrogant moves", a top security official told Oman's foreign minister in Tehran on Saturday amid a tanker crisis.
Oman, a past mediator between Iran and its foes, sent its top diplomat to the Islamic republic amid amplified tensions between Iran and the United States and its allies, including in the Persian Gulf.
"Some of the region's countries have not only removed the possibility of talks because of hasty and arrogant moves and behavior, but have also made managing regional crises a serious challenge," said Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council.
Shamkhani, who spoke after meeting with Omani Foreign Minister Yusuf Bin Alawi, also hit out at a British plan for a European coalition to escort tankers in the Gulf.
"Security measures for the region must use local capabilities and cooperation between regional countries, and foreign countries' interference will achieve nothing but increase problems", he said, quoted by the website of Iran's state television.
Tensions in the Gulf have soared since last year when President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from a landmark 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and reimposed sanctions on the country.
In retaliation, Iran said in May it would disregard certain limits the deal set on its nuclear programme and threatened to take further measures if remaining parties to the accord, especially European nations, did not help it circumvent US sanctions.
Tensions have escalated further in the region with a string of incidents involving tankers and drones.
The United States and Gulf powerhouse Saudi Arabia accused Iran of being behind multiple attacks on tankers in the Gulf in June, which Iran denies.
On July 19, a British-flagged tanker was impounded by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards with its 23 crew aboard in the Strait of Hormuz.
The seizure was seen by London as a tit-for-tat move for British authorities detaining an Iranian tanker off the UK overseas territory of Gibraltar in early July.
Shamkhani called on all countries to “respect international maritime law in order to maintain security”.
“In contrast to the British maritime piracy, who illegally detained an Iranian oil shipment in Gibraltar, Iran’s move was completely legal and was made in order to implement maritime rules and maintain maritime security,” he said.
Bin Alawi also held talks with Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, in Tehran on Saturday.
Oman has called for the release of the UK-flagged Stena Impero and for London and Tehran to resolve their dispute diplomatically.
Photo: IRNA
Iran Says its Tanker Held in Saudi Arabia Released
◢ An Iranian tanker held in Saudi Arabia since being forced to seek repairs at Jeddah port has been released and is returning to the Islamic republic, a minister said Sunday. The Happiness 1 tanker "has been released following negotiations and is now moving toward Persian Gulf waters," said transport minister Mohammad Eslami, quoted by state news agency IRNA.
An Iranian tanker held in Saudi Arabia since being forced to seek repairs at Jeddah port has been released and is returning to the Islamic republic, a minister said Sunday.
The Happiness 1 tanker "has been released following negotiations and is now moving toward Persian Gulf waters," said transport minister Mohammad Eslami, quoted by state news agency IRNA.
The ship had been forced to seek repairs in Saudi Arabia in early May after suffering "engine failure and loss of control", the Iranian oil ministry's SHANA news agency said at the time.
The rare docking came despite escalating tensions between staunch enemies Iran and Saudi Arabia.
"Yesterday, with follow-ups from the ports and maritime authority the issue
was resolved," Eslami said.
"The tanker is moving towards the Persian Gulf with the permission of the Jeddah port, towed by two Iranian tug boats."
Iran's national tanker company said in a statement that on top of "political and diplomatic negotiations" the tanker's release required "the payment of related costs" demanded by Saudi Arabia.
According to a July 2 report by Mehr News Agency, Iran paid "over $10 million to Jeddah port for repairs and maintenance" of the tanker.
Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic ties with Iran in 2016, after its missions in the country were attacked in demonstrations over the kingdom executing prominent Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr.
They still lack direct diplomatic channels, and Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi on Sunday thanked "Switzerland and Oman as well as related Saudi parties for offering services and facilities" to resolve the issue.
Photo: FleetMon
Oman Says It Is Trying to Reduce US-Iran Tensions
◢ Oman said Friday it was trying to reduce spiraling tensions between the Unites States and Iran, as the Pentagon confirmed it was considering deploying more troops to the region. The small but strategically located sultanate, which faces Iran across the highly sensitive Strait of Hormuz at the entrance to the Gulf, has maintained good relations with Tehran throughout successive regional crises.
Oman said Friday it was trying to reduce spiraling tensions between the Unites States and Iran, as the Pentagon confirmed it was considering deploying more troops to the region.
The small but strategically located sultanate, which faces Iran across the highly sensitive Strait of Hormuz at the entrance to the Gulf, has maintained good relations with Tehran throughout successive regional crises.
That has at times allowed it to play an important mediating role, including with the United States.
"We and other parties seek to calm tensions between Washington and Tehran," Muscat's state minister for foreign affairs Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah said in a statement.
"A war could harm the whole world, and both the American and Iranian sides are 'aware of the dangers'."
Abdullah earlier this week visited Tehran, where he met Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Tehran's official state news agency IRNA said.
Oman played a crucial role in bringing US and Iranian negotiators together for the preliminary talks that ultimately led to a landmark 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and major powers, including the United States.
The current crisis began when President Donald Trump abandoned the deal in May last year and gradually reimposed crippling sanctions that have left Iran's economy reeling.
Washington has since further increased the pressure on Iran, deploying an aircraft carrier task force as well as B-52 bombers, an amphibious assault ship and a missile defence battery to the Gulf.
The movements have come in response to alleged Iranian threats to US interests or those of its Middle East allies.
But they have raised concerns, even among governments close to the US, that brinksmanship with Tehran could lead to a dangerous miscalculation.
On Tuesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi announced that he intended to send delegations to the US and Iran "very soon" in an attempt to ease tensions between the two countries, both key allies to Baghdad.
Photo: IRNA
