Bin Alawi in Tehran on Second Visit this Month

Omani Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah held talks in Iran's capital Tehran on Tuesday with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif (Oman news agency)
Omani Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah held talks in Iran's capital Tehran on Tuesday with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif (Oman news agency)
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Bin Alawi in Tehran on Second Visit this Month

Omani Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah held talks in Iran's capital Tehran on Tuesday with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif (Oman news agency)
Omani Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah held talks in Iran's capital Tehran on Tuesday with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif (Oman news agency)

Omani Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah held talks in Iran's capital Tehran on Tuesday with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif.

Discussions focused on bilateral relations, the latest regional developments, and issues of common concern.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said the talks were a follow-up to regular discussions between the two countries on bilateral cooperation and major issues of common concern, Oman’s news agency said.

Iran’s IRNA reported that the two diplomats underlined close and strategic relations between Tehran and Muscat and exchanged views on the latest developments in the region.

On Monday, Mousavi said that a regional country official would visit Iran on Tuesday, without disclosing his identity.

This is bin Alawi’s second visit to Iran this month. The Omani FM had traveled to Tehran on January 7 to attend the Tehran dialogue forum’s 23rd Gulf international conference.

The two men also met last week in Muscat during the Iranian Foreign Minister’s short trip to the country, which was aimed at meeting with Canadian FM Francois-Philippe Champagne.

In the past 40 years, Oman seeks to play a mediatory role in calming tensions between Tehran and Washington.

The conflict between Iran and the US escalated after a direct order by President Donald Trump to assassinate top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani near Baghdad’s international airport on January 3.

After the assassination, Iran retaliated by firing dozens of ballistic at a major US military airbase in western Iraq.

“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.

The Sultanate also exerts efforts to bring Yemeni parties closer at a time when efforts are exerted to reach a political solution to the country’s war.



IAEA Chief Says Time Running Out to Reach Iran Nuclear Deal

 Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), attends a joint media briefing with Director General of Russia's State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom following their talks in Moscow on February 7, 2025. (AFP)
Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), attends a joint media briefing with Director General of Russia's State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom following their talks in Moscow on February 7, 2025. (AFP)
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IAEA Chief Says Time Running Out to Reach Iran Nuclear Deal

 Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), attends a joint media briefing with Director General of Russia's State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom following their talks in Moscow on February 7, 2025. (AFP)
Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), attends a joint media briefing with Director General of Russia's State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom following their talks in Moscow on February 7, 2025. (AFP)

Time is running out to secure an accord to rein in Iran's nuclear program as Tehran continues to accelerate its enrichment of uranium to near weapons grade, UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said on Friday.

Iran has stepped up nuclear work since 2019, after US President Donald Trump in his first term abandoned a 2015 agreement reached under predecessor Barack Obama.

With nuclear diplomacy stalled, the spotlight has turned on Trump and how he intends to handle the dossier.

So far there has been little clear policy on the issue, and Iran has continued to advance its nuclear program, accelerating enrichment of uranium to up to 60% purity, close to the roughly 90% of weapons grade.

"I think we are running out of time, but it doesn't mean that we can't do it fast," International Atomic Energy Agency chief Grossi said in an interview on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

"The IAEA is there and has all the information and elements, but when it comes to the policy it's up to the countries."

Grossi said Iran was in the process of increasing around sevenfold its monthly production of uranium enriched to up to 60%.

He said Iran would likely have about 250 kg of uranium enriched to up to 60% by the time of the agency's next report in the coming weeks.

That is enough in principle, if enriched further, for six nuclear bombs, according to an IAEA yardstick

"It's clearly a sign that should be taken very seriously. So this is why I believe that we shouldn't be wasting more time. I hope that we can refocus on Iran," he said.

IAEA 'EAGERLY' AWAITS ENVOY'S APPOINTMENT

Highlighting the challenges, Trump has yet to appoint a dedicated team or envoy to handle the Iran dossier, leaving allies, including Britain, France and Germany, who are part of the 2015 deal, unclear on how to proceed.

The European powers had hoped to convince Iran to begin negotiating new restrictions on its nuclear activities with a view to having a deal by the summer.

That would give enough time to implement new limits on Iran's program and lift sanctions before the 2015 accord expires in October 2025.

"We are eagerly waiting for a US envoy on Iran to be appointed so we can start exchanging views and seeing what the next steps will be," Grossi said. "We are in contact, but we haven't been able to have a political conversation with someone who is implementing the policies of the president."

At the request of the Europeans, the IAEA's 35-nation Board of Governors passed a resolution in November ordering Iran to urgently improve cooperation with the agency and requesting a "comprehensive" report by spring aimed at pressuring Iran into fresh nuclear talks.

Asked whether the report could be ready by the next board meeting in March, Grossi said there would be "very little added value" to what the agency had already reported and that it would be better once there had been some progress with Iran.

"It will come. It could be by March, but most likely a bit later," Grossi said.