Surprise Visit Probably Taken on Behalf of U.S. to Bridge Gap with Iran
No details of the meeting were available, but in the past Oman has played a major go-between role between Iran and the United States on nuclear issues. In the last months of Ahmadinejad presidency, Oman hosted senior-level secret talks between the two countries, which eventually led to Geneva talks and the interim agreement, JPOA. Last week, Muscat hosted two days of talks between Zarif and Secretary of State John Kerry and EU envoy Catherine Ashton.
Omani foreign minister’s visit to Tehran is most probably taken on behalf of the United States, aiming to bridge the gap with Iran only days before the 24 November deadline. The last meeting between Iran and P5+1 before the deadline will start on Tuesday in Vienna.
File photo: Oman’s Foreign Minister Youssef Bin Alawi Bin Abdullah (Press TV)
Sultan Qaboos owes his country to Iran since the Shah helped him retain the throne in the Dhofar insurgency and now Qaboos is facing cancer and wants a legacy of diplomacy, but the chances of a US-Iran nuclear deal which were probably 10% before the Congressional elections are now less than zero. It is shame that US can't shake-off the destructive Zionist lobby and AIPAC.
ReplyDeleteWe had fighter-bomber aircraft stationed in Oman when war broke out between our countries in 1980. We would take off from Omani air force bases to conduct airfield denial missions at Bushehr (Abu Shehr in Arabic) and Bandar Abbas. All of this happened under the watch of Sultan Qaboos. Makes you wonder how much of a friend he was to Iran. He might have had a friendly relationship with the Shah.
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