Oman’s recently appointed Foreign Minister, Sayyid Badr Al Busaidi, is optimistic about the US returning to the Iran nuclear deal.
A return would provide a “wider step” to build dialogue with Iran on key regional issues and concerns, Mr Al Busaidi said on Thursday.
“We are always ready to assist in every way possible,” he said in an online interview hosted by the Atlantic Council.
“We enjoy a very good relationship with Iran and we obviously enjoy a great relationship with the United States.
“I believe the channels are open directly between the foreign policy team in Washington and Iran.
"I see no reason why those channels can’t be reactivated. Some of the members of that team were involved in the negotiations [for the nuclear deal] in the first place.”
Oman's foreign minister 'optimistic' about return to Iran nuclear deal
Obama administration officials, many of whom now serve in the Biden administration, initiated secret negotiations with Iran in Oman that ultimately led to the nuclear deal.
The Biden administration insists that Iran must end its breaches of the deal before it lifts the Trump-era sanctions, while Tehran insists that the US lift those penalties before it returns to compliance with the accord.
Mr Al Busaidi also said his country was content with the present level of relations with Israel after speculation that it would be next in joining the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco to establish full ties.
He said Oman was still committed to a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli dispute, calling it a “matter of respecting justice and international law”.
“Achieving a two-state solution would be the single greatest contribution to regional stability we could presently imagine,” Mr Al Busaidi said.
He praised the new US administration and the steps it had taken in Yemen, including removing the Houthi rebels, known as Ansarullah, from its list of terrorist groups – a move made by the Trump administration in its final days in office.
“America is back as a force for peace as three particular decisions to bring about an end to the conflict in Yemen clearly demonstrate, by helping stem the flow of weapons into the conflict and by removing the exclusionary designation of Ansarullah as a terrorist organisation,” Mr Al Busaidi said.
Those steps, and the appointment of Tim Lenderking as US envoy to Yemen, “give hope” that the end of the conflict is within reach, he said.
