Norway's Deputy Foreign Minister Andreas Kravik has visited Iran to seek a diplomatic solution to the US-Iran war, Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide has told The National.
Mr Kravik held a meeting with his counterpart Kazem Gharibabadi and Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Tehran on Tuesday. The visit follows talks Mr Kravik held last week with officials in Pakistan and Oman.
Visits by western officials to Iran are uncommon as talks to end the conflict with the US appear to falter amid a fragile ceasefire.
Iran's main negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has said there is no alternative to an offer that US President Donald Trump has described as “garbage.”
In a written statement, Mr Barth Eide said that Norway does not have a formal role in negotiations but is “trying to contribute to solutions” where it can. Oslo's goal is “safeguarding Norwegian and European interests”, he said.
Common ground
Mr Barth Eide said that Norway had a vested interest in reaching a diplomatic solution because it is a “major maritime and shipping nation with an open economy”.
“Finding common ground that is acceptable to all parties is, in my view, difficult but not impossible,” Mr Barth Eide said. “We believe it is in everyone’s interest to end this destructive spiral as quickly as possible.”
In Tehran, Mr Kravik urged Iranian authorities to engage constructively in talks with the US brokered by Pakistan with support from Turkey, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan's mediation failed to gain traction after an initial meeting between US Vice President JD Vance and Iranian negotiators in Islamabad on April 11.
Yet Pakistan's role remains backed by major powers including China, despite tensions with the US over media reports that Pakistan sheltered Iranian aircraft from US attack last month.
Mr Kravik also told Iranian officials that Iran's actions in the Strait of Hormuz must cease and are “completely unacceptable.” About 25 Norwegian vessels are stranded in the Strait of Hormuz.
A handful of European nations have positioned minesweepers and frigates near the area to help secure traffic once the situation has stabilised. Italy on Tuesday sent two minesweepers to the Eastern Mediterranean, one week after France sent the Charles de Gaulle, its aircraft carrier, to the Red Sea.
On the agenda were also talks about Iran's human rights abuses and repression of protesters in January, during which tens of thousands are believed to have died. “Many Iranians are living in fear both of what the regime may now do and of further acts of war,” Mr Barth Eide said.
Of particular concern to Oslo is the health of Nobel Prize winner Narges Mohammadi, who was recently transferred to hospital because of ill health. Mr Kravik demanded her release.
