US-Iran rapprochement offers avenue to Mideast peace: Oman FM

Special US-Iran rapprochement offers avenue to Mideast peace: Oman FM
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken listens to Oman FM Sayyid Badr Al-Busaidi as they attend a breakfast with GCC FMs, Monday, Sept. 18, 2023, New York, US (Reuters)
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Updated 20 September 2023
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US-Iran rapprochement offers avenue to Mideast peace: Oman FM

US-Iran rapprochement offers avenue to Mideast peace: Oman FM
  • Sayyid Badr Al-Busaidi hails recent prisoner swap between Washington, Tehran
  • Important for both sides to ‘maintain a momentum of trust and de-escalation’

NEW YORK: Rapprochement between the US and Iran offers an avenue for regional peace, Oman’s foreign minister said on Wednesday.

Sayyid Badr Al-Busaidi added that the recent prisoner exchange between Washington and Tehran would lead to further dialogue and closer ties in the coming months.

He was addressing the inaugural Middle East Global Summit in New York, organized by Semafor and Al-Monitor, and attended by Arab News.

Al-Busaidi said even if rapprochement is “slow, painstaking and challenging,” it is important for the US and Iran to “maintain a momentum of trust … and de-escalation” in order to safeguard the stability of the global economy.

He described the Iran nuclear deal as “the best thing we have.” And amid concerns about Tehran’s regional foreign policy, Al-Busaidi said he is “in favor of having a platform where Iran can talk bilaterally.”

The key to Middle East security and integration is to “acknowledge that all of us are part of this region, including Iran, and therefore we all have a vested interest in the region’s future.”