TEHRAN - Iran's Ambassador to Muscat, Mohammad Reza Nouri Shahroudi, met on Monday with Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, the new Sultan of Oman.

At the meeting, in which Ambassador Nouri Shahroudi submitted his credentials to the Omani Sultan, both sides vowed to do their best to reinvigorate mutual cooperation in different fields. 

The Iranian envoy also conveyed greetings of President Hassan Rouhani to Bin Tariq Al Said and expressed Iran's readiness to develop friendly relations with Oman and expand bilateral cooperation in all fields.

Yusuf Bin Alawi bin Abdullah, the Sultanate of Oman's Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs, also attended the meeting. 

In January, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif discussed bilateral cooperation regarding security in the Strait of Hormuz with his Omani counterpart in Tehran.

The two ministers confirmed their countries’ intention to continue cooperation and consultation to ensure maritime and energy security for all.

The Omani foreign minister’s visit to Tehran was the third in less than a month. He had visited Iran in early January to participate in the “Tehran Dialogue Forum”.

During Barack Obama’s presidency, Oman acted as an intermediary between Iran and the United States. 

Analysts say Oman is still trying to deescalate tension between Tehran and Washington.

Tension between Iran and the U.S. started unfolding after U.S President Donald Trump unilaterally and illegally withdrew the U.S. from the 2015 nuclear deal (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) and put the harshest ever sanctions in history against Iran under his “maximum pressure” strategy against Tehran. 

Analysts have called Oman the Switzerland of the Middle East. The country has also been mediating been Yemen and Saudi Arabia which have been at war since March 2015.

In their December meeting, Zarif and bin Alawi conferred on key international and regional issues, particularly the Tehran-initiated Hormuz Peace Endeavor (HOPE).

MJ/PA