Iranian president, Omani foreign minister meet in Tehran

Omani Foreign Minister Youssef bin Alawi bin Abdullah has paid an unofficial visit to Iran and held talks with Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani over regional developments in the capital, Tehran.

In his Sunday visit, Alawi also met with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif.

An informed official told IRNA that Alawi’s one-day visit was aimed at discussing bilateral ties and ways to tackle extremism in the region.

The visit came a week after the Omani capital, Muscat, hosted three days of nuclear talks between Iran, the United States and the European Union. The talks were meant to facilitate the conclusion of a final deal between Iran and P5+1 over the Iranian nuclear program before a November 24 deadline.

On the top of the agenda of the Muscat talks were the extent of Iran’s uranium enrichment and the timetable for the removal of anti-Iran sanctions.

On November 11, Alawi expressed optimism that a final nuclear agreement between Iran and P5+1 – Russia, China, Britain, France, the US and Germany – is within reach.

Oman has played an intermediary role between Iran and the US since Tehran and Washington severed diplomatic ties in 1979.

In late August, Oman’s Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said visited Iran at the head of a high-ranking delegation.