ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi is set to visit Tehran on Tuesday for talks with Iranian officials, as diplomatic efforts intensify to ease US-Iran tensions amid Washington’s plans to tighten economic sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
Iranian state media cited Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei as saying that Albusaidi will meet his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, during the visit.
“This visit is taking place in line with strengthening Iran-Oman bilateral cooperation and continuing the ongoing political consultations between the two sides – as two coastal nations of the Strait of Hormuz – to help bolster peace and security in the region,” Baghaei said.
Albusaidi’s visit comes as Pakistan’s powerful army chief, Asim Munir, is also due to travel to Tehran on Monday, as Islamabad resumes efforts to mediate between Iran and the United States and bring an end to the ongoing Middle East war.
Pakistan has emerged as the main mediator in peace talks between Tehran and Washington.
The diplomatic push comes as Washington steps up economic pressure on Tehran. US President Donald Trump earlier this week announced what he described as “Economic Warfare” against Iran and warned of consequences for countries providing Tehran with an economic lifeline.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that Washington would impose “the toughest sanctions in history” on Iran.
Bessent wrote on X on Monday that the United States was entering what he called “the endgame” and that Washington’s objective was to “sever every economic lifeline that sustains the tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone.”
"At dawn begins an economic D-Day – the single greatest financial offensive ever marshaled against an adversary," he wrote.
The Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20 percent of global oil and liquefied natural gas passed before the Iran war, has remained at the center of tensions during the conflict. Disruptions to shipping through the strategic waterway have affected oil shipments and added to economic pressure across the region.
Iran and Oman launched talks last month over the future of the waterway. The two neighbors agreed on the geographical coordinates of a proposed shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz, with Tehran and Muscat working to finalize technical and legal details.
Araghchi later said the two countries were close to reaching an agreement on a temporary route, while Tehran has maintained that normal shipping through the strategic waterway will not resume until its conditions are met.
