Oman’s sultan to meet Putin in Moscow after Iran-US nuclear talks mediated by Muscat
Visit will follow US-Iran negotiations at Omani embassy in Rome; Tehran has said it wants Moscow to play a role in the process
Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said is set to visit Moscow on Monday, two days after the start of a second round of Muscat-mediated nuclear talks between the US and Iran.
The sultan will hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, the Kremlin said.
Iran and the US started a new round of nuclear talks in Rome on Saturday to resolve their decades-long standoff over Tehran’s nuclear program, under the shadow of US President Donald Trump’s warning he could unleash military action if diplomacy fails.
Ahead of Saturday’s talks, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi met his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in Moscow. Following the meeting, Lavrov said Friday that Russia was “ready to assist, mediate and play any role that will be beneficial to Iran and the USA.”
Araghchi said that he believes a nuclear deal is possible with the US, so long as Washington does not make “unrealistic demands.” Araghchi added that he wants Russia to play a role in the process.
“If they demonstrate seriousness of intent and do not make unrealistic demands, reaching agreements is possible,” the Iranian diplomat told a news conference in Moscow after talks with Lavrov.
Moscow has played a role in Iran’s nuclear negotiations in the past as a veto-wielding UN Security Council member and signatory to an earlier deal that Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018.
The sultan’s meetings in Moscow will focus on cooperation on regional and global issues, the Omani state news agency and the Kremlin said, without providing further detail.
The two leaders are also expected to discuss trade and economic ties, the Kremlin added.
Iran, whose leaders are sworn to destroy Israel, says it does not seek nuclear weapons, but has since December increased by about half its already sizable stockpile of 60%-enriched uranium, and is on track to roughly quadruple its production of uranium ore this year, according to international nuclear watchdogs.
The enrichment rate is far beyond what is necessary for a civilian nuclear program and a short step away from weapons-grade. On Thursday, while visiting Tehran, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi warned that the US and Iran “don’t have much time” to ink a deal.
The Times of Israel Community.