Amirabdollahian said he discussed a UN-proposed regional dialogue forum, in addition to trade and investment prospects.
Tehran, Iran – Iran promoted a regional dialogue and cooperation forum during a four-country tour by Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian as he met with senior officials of neighboring Arab countries.
Amirabdollahian visited Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), between June 19 and late Thursday.
The Iranian top diplomat welcomed a proposal by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to convene an eight-nation regional forum in New York in September.
The forum will include Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain and is expected to continue its work beyond the gathering of the UN General Assembly, Amirabdollahian suggested.
“We agreed with the top officials and my counterparts in the four countries to take the initiative of the secretary-general as a good sign and to take more effective measures to follow up on the initiatives inside in this new framework.”
Under the heavy sanctions imposed by the United States since 2018 after Washington unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran among world powers, Tehran has pursued a policy of improving relations. , especially economic relations, across the region.
In Doha, Amirabdollahian met Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, while in Muscat he sat down with Mohammed Abdulsalam, the chief negotiator of the Iran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen. , in Iranian. embassy.
A ceasefire and engagement with the Saudi-backed Yemeni government has been held following a rapprochement between Tehran and Riyadh following a Chinese-brokered deal in March that saw the two regional heavyweights reconcile. diplomatic relations after seven years.
Trade and investment was a key focus of Amirabdollahian as a way to strengthen bilateral relations and security across the region when he met with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud in Tehran last week. , as the longtime rivals seek to end a diplomatic standoff.
Amirabdollahian spoke to his Omani counterpart, Sayyid Badr Albusaidi, and Sultan bin Mohammed al-Nu’amani.
In Kuwait, he met Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah, who formed a cabinet earlier this week after being reinstated as prime minister.
For the last part of his trip, Amirabdollahian visited Abu Dhabi and met with his counterpart Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, also known as MBZ.
Amirabdollahian invited the president, who is the ruler of Abu Dhabi, to visit Tehran. MBZ has reportedly invited Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to his country.
Sheikh Abdullah, the UAE’s foreign minister, drove the Iranian diplomat in his private car, footage of which was widely shared by Iranian media calling it a “friendly and intimate” gesture.
At each stop, Amirabdollahian mostly emphasized the development of bilateral economic and trade relations, in addition to building dialogue.
The regional tour also comes as Iran and the US hold indirect talks, long mediated by Oman and Qatar, in an effort to control tensions amid fading hopes of fully restoring the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as the nuclear agreement is formally known.
Tehran and Washington have refrained from commenting on specifics, but reports indicate they may reach an agreement rather than a major signed agreement.
Iran is continuing its peaceful nuclear efforts and this may include an arrangement on its nuclear developments in addition to unfreezing billions of dollars of Iranian currency locked outside the country to facilitate a prisoner exchange with the US.
Iran’s chief negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani was in Doha this week and met with the European Union’s senior representative for nuclear talks, Enrique Mora. Bagheri said the talks were “serious and constructive”.
Bagheri announced earlier that he had a meeting with his counterparts from France, Germany and the United Kingdom, the three European powers party to the JCPOA, in Abu Dhabi, indicating that the UAE may also be watching in a new mediating role between Tehran and the West.
