Omani mediation in US-Iran talks wins regional support
Muscat – Oman's facilitation of high-level talks between the United States and Iran on Tehran's nuclear programme has received widespread praise from Gulf and Arab countries, reinforcing the sultanate's role as a trusted diplomatic intermediary in the region.
At the meeting held in Muscat on Saturday, both sides agreed to hold another round of negotiations next week. The Iranian delegation was led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, while the US delegation was headed by Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy.
On Sunday, H E Sayyid Badr bin Hamad al Busaidi, Foreign Minister, held a phone conversation with Ayman Safadi, Jordan's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, to discuss regional developments including the Muscat talks. Safadi conveyed Jordan's full support for Oman's mediation, describing its role as 'responsible' and praising the efforts to 'bring viewpoints closer and promote peaceful paths to resolve regional disputes'.
Bahrain welcomed Oman's efforts, describing the facilitation as a 'constructive diplomatic initiative' that supports regional and international peace and security.
In another call, H E Sayyid Badr and Qatar's Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al Thani reviewed the outcome of the meeting. The Qatari official praised Oman's 'positive and constructive' role in promoting dialogue and reaffirmed Doha's support for efforts aimed at regional stability.
H E Sayyid Badr also spoke with Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of UAE, who valued Oman's constructive efforts aimed at fostering a climate conducive to understanding and building confidence in a way that enhances security and peace in the region.
Kuwait also expressed support, stating that the Muscat meetings reflected a 'positive spirit' and an 'encouraging tone' from both Washington and Tehran. It commended Oman's continued efforts to promote calm and cooperation in the region.
Saudi Arabia welcomed the sultanate's mediation, expressing hope that the talks would pave way for greater regional cooperation. Riyadh reiterated its support for 'efforts to promote security, stability and peace in the region and globally'.
Egypt too commended Oman, citing its 'constructive, vital and ongoing role' in supporting peaceful political solutions amid the region's challenges.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the White House appreciated Oman for hosting the first round of talks between the US and Iran, which mark the highest level of engagement between the two nations since 2018.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Observer
a day ago
- Observer
Land of warriors... where ‘honour' is sullied, respect is lost
How can an ethnic group, rich in culture and tradition, and numbering more than 30 million people, not have a home to call their own? The Kurdish people are a proud people, gentle, yet, in protecting their 'honour,' become utterly mindless, brutal. The Kurdish, says proud young Kurd Danyil Kamil, are people of the mountainous, stateless region, that spans four nations Iran, Iraq, Türkiye , and Syria, once known as Mesopotamia. Culturally strong, and mostly Sunni Muslim. Ironically, following WWI, the Western allies having conquered the Ottoman Empire, made provision for a Kurdish state, even giving it the name of Kurdistan, in the 1920 Treaty of Sevres. However, the subsequent Treaty of Lausanne, in 1923, which established the post-war boundaries of modern-day Turkey, saw the Kurdish homeland fractured and according to Kamil, 'out of sight, out of mind.' Autonomous governance of the Iraqi sector has been touted since 1946, when Mustafa Barzani created the Kurdistan Democratic Party, which 15 years later, frustrated with their political progress launched an armed offensive against the government. In March1988, Saddam Hussein cruelly unleashed a chemical attack against Halabja, on the Iranian border, killing 5,000 Kurds. Iran's Ten million Kurdish Muslims, who have long sought formal allegiances with their fellow Levantine mountain-dwellers. However, successive Iranian governments have proven reluctant to cede a strong social presence, in country, and suppression of Kurdish autonomy and activism is widespread. Turkish Kurds too have suffered as successive Turkish governments have rejected autonomy since the 1920s, with Kurdish identity made unlawful. In 1978, Abdullah Ocalan inspired a bid for Kurdish independence, only to be arrested and gaoled in 1999. He is still imprisoned, alone, in Imrali Prison. It is conservatively estimated that more than 36,000 people have perished in the Turkish/Kurdish 'troubles. Syria only has a modest Kurdish population, denied citizenship, homes, land, and businesses, they were victims of widespread genocide until in 2012, Bashir Al Assad was forced to protect urban Syria from other rebel forces. Even today, Syria's fractured leadership refuses to negotiate Kurdish autonomy. This then, is the adversity that is Kurdistan, and hardly of its own making. But that's no excuse... Maybe the earlier generations would settle for peace and quiet, but as in every society, there is youth, and with youth comes restlessness, and a desire to be seen and heard, maybe ill-disciplined and free-spirited, but undeserving of the pathos surrounding one lost soul. Fairooz Azad was a Kurdish teenager, living in Erbil, population 879,000, and Kurdistan's largest city. She was pretty, vibrant, and bold, who successfully blended her beauty, fashion, personality and opinions, influencing thousands of Kurdish followers on social media. Her posts offered a very different perspective to the normally mundane existence where the only local excitement was their football team. A pretty girl, Azad would 'dress to impress,' frequently blogging and posting on TikTok and Snapchat, becoming prominent across the region's social media. Not everyone though, was impressed, and in November 2023, two rival influencers, feigning interest in her success, instead brutally assaulted and violated the 18-year-old and threw her from the balcony of Erbil's Eskan Towers. Miraculously, she survived with a broken leg, pelvic and spinal injuries. Incredibly, a tribal mediation saw her assailants given only a brief term of imprisonment, and they were released from jail before Azad was discharged from hospital. Then, in April 2024, believing Azad was now 'impure,' her father, uncle, cousin, a brother, and others, entered her bedroom and shot her dead while she was sleeping. To think young Fairooz Azad is now little more than a statistic, one of an average thirty women who perish each year in this region alone, in the name of 'honour?' This is not honour! For any culture, any tradition, no matter how disappointed, frustrated, or bitter with their lot, to seek solace in ritual gendercide, is completely wrong! Nyala Ali Khan, author, lecturer, and a global advocate for women's rights, in an interview on 'Counterpunch,' in 2016, that the 'discourse of honour killings,' speaks only to the 'incorrigible bestiality,' of the practice. How can a culture, a civilisation, a way of life, that regards honour so wretchedly, seek freedom, respect and independence so robustly?
Observer
4 days ago
- Observer
HM exchanges Eid Al Adha greetings with Leaders of Arab, Islamic countries
Muscat: On the advent of Eid Al Adha 1446 AH, His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik has exchanged cables of greetings with kings and leaders of the Arab and Islamic countries. In his cables, His Majesty the Sultan expressed his sincere sentiments and best wishes to them and the peoples of their countries. His Majesty prayed to Allah the Almighty for the return of this and similar occasions on them and on peoples of their countries, as well as all Muslims around the world with blessings and bounties. on their turn, the leaders expressed their sincere greetings and best wishes to His Majesty the Sultan and the Omani people. They prayed to Allah the Almighty to grant his Majesty good health and well-being. They also prayed to the Almighty for the return of this and similar occasions on His Majesty at a time his people has achieved further progress and prosperity in various spheres.
Observer
5 days ago
- Observer
Oman Embassy clarifies on recruitment of Indonesian domestic workers
Muscat: The Embassy of the Sultanate of Oman in Jakarta issued on Wednesday a notice urging Omani citizens not to deal with offices involved in the recruitment of domestic workers in the Republic of Indonesia. According to the embassy, the export of Indonesian domestic workers is currently not officially permitted to Arab countries, including the Sultanate of Oman. The statement clarified that such recruitment remains unofficial and unauthorised. As a result, any financial transactions made for this purpose cannot be legally pursued, and the embassy confirmed that no legal procedures can be taken to recover funds transferred for unapproved recruitment. The embassy emphasised the importance of avoiding dealings that fall outside the official framework, as they are considered illegal.
