Oman, US seek de-escalating region tensions

Omani foreign minister, Yusuf bin Alawi, has announced that the United States (US) was seeking to alleviate the current tensions in the Middle East region, Iran’s Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported yesterday.

“Washington has been in constant contact with Oman over easing the current conflicts and escalation in the region,” bin Alawi said during the Regional Dialogue Forum held in the Iranian capital city of Tehran. “We [Oman] also strives to achieve security and stability across the region,” he added.

Referring to the Iranian forum, the Omani official pointed out that Iran was “progressing towards achieving security and peace in the region.”

Oman has strong relations with the US and Iran. It had has previously mediated between the two countries after Washington cut diplomatic ties after the Iranian Islamic Revolution in 1979.

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Relations between Washington and Tehran have recently increasingly strained after a US airstrike stormed the Iraqi Baghdad international airport on Friday, where the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ elite Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani, along with senior Iraqi militants were killed.

The Pentagon accused Soleimani of planning to carry out attacks on US diplomats and service members in Iraq and the region, saying the slain leader was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American and coalition service members.

The attack has caused regional tensions to soar and tested the US alliance with Iraq.

The Iranian foreign ministry recently said on Twitter that Bin Alawi had offered his condolences to Tehran over Soleimani’s death.