Oman's Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi held talks with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani during which they discussed regional developments and means of boosting cooperation. The Iranian side asked Omanis for a broader regional coordination beginning with an economic partnership.
Meanwhile, Iranian officials continued to respond to the European tendency to impose sanctions on Tehran amid serious risks threatening the future of the nuclear agreement.
On Sunday, Rouhani promised Oman of further strengthening trade and financial relations to demand greater rapprochement with Muscat to coordinate with Tehran on regional issues, pointing out that both countries have heavy responsibility in solving regional issues and should use their experiences to promote peace and stability in the region, adding: "the more insecure the region is, the more countries of the region will suffer".
Emphasizing the need for deepening banking ties and facilitating merchants' visit to the two countries, the President said: "Today, there are many capacities and abilities of investment in different sectors, such as petrochemical, energy, steel, aluminum, railways and ports development, in which Omani investors can participate."
The Omani Minister responded by stressing the need to facilitate banking relations between the two states and establish direct trade using both currencies. He added the Sultanate is ready to expand the scope of its cooperation with Iran in energy, investment, trade and ports fields.
Notably, bin Alawi's talks revealed that economic cooperation, led by banking and commercial cooperation, was one of the priorities of Iranian officials in bilateral relations.
After the meeting, IRNA quoted Rouhani's office chief Mahmoud Vaezi as saying that "all parties concerned with the agreements between the two sides should be active in the course of developing economic relations."
He pointed to the need for enhancing economic relations in parallel with political relations.
Despite Iran's Foreign Ministry's denial of "speculations" about any Omani mediation behind the surprise visit of bin Alawi to Tehran, Iranian newspapers unanimously agreed that the "traditional mediator" between Washington and Tehran carried US messages, specifically from Defense Secretary James Mattis to Iranian officials.
During the first day of his visit, the Omani Minister met with Secretary General of the National Security Council Ali Shamkhani, which sparked more rumors about a message being relayed. This was further confirmed when official news agencies quoted part of the two sides' consultations. Shamkhani stressed Tehran's position on the development of ballistic missiles, adherence to its regional role, in addition to rejecting any amendment to the text of the nuclear agreement.
Bin Alawi also met with Speaker Ali Larijani, during which they discussed several issues between Tehran and Washington.
The Omani official's visit came at a time when Iranian media were raising questions about Rouhani's silence on recent developments on the nuclear deal.
A routine consultation between Iran and the 5 + 1 countries in Vienna, held every three months on the implementation of the nuclear deal, has turned into highly sensitive consultations, given the statements of Iranian Assistant Foreign Minister Abbas Araghji which coincided with a document leaked showing a European approach to imposing sanctions on Tehran's ballistic missile program.
The Omani top official did not meet with Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif as the Iranian Foreign Ministry announced that the FM canceled all his meetings, including the one with Omani foreign minister scheduled for Sunday due to health concerns after returning from a trilateral meeting with his Russian and Turkish counterparts.
Oman’s Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi has phoned his Iranian counterpart to wish him to get well soon after Zarif canceled all his meetings due to his severe illness.
