Omani, Iranian FMs Discuss Regional Developments

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian met with his Omani counterpart, Sayyid Badr Albusaidi in Muscat on Tuesday. (Iranian Foreign Ministry)
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian met with his Omani counterpart, Sayyid Badr Albusaidi in Muscat on Tuesday. (Iranian Foreign Ministry)
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Omani, Iranian FMs Discuss Regional Developments

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian met with his Omani counterpart, Sayyid Badr Albusaidi in Muscat on Tuesday. (Iranian Foreign Ministry)
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian met with his Omani counterpart, Sayyid Badr Albusaidi in Muscat on Tuesday. (Iranian Foreign Ministry)

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian has held consultations with his Omani counterpart, Sayyid Badr Albusaidi, in Muscat, before heading to Beirut to meet with Lebanese politicians.

Abdollahian arrived on Tuesday in the Sultanate on an official visit to hold regional consultations and bilateral talks, according to the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In a brief statement, the Ministry said that Abdollahian was accompanied by a political delegation, and would meet with Albusaidi and other Omani officials, to discuss bilateral relations and important regional and international issues.

This is the first visit of the Iranian Foreign Minister to a Gulf capital following the Chinese-sponsored agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which was signed on March 10, and stipulated the resumption of diplomatic relations and the reopening of the embassies of the two countries within a maximum period of two months.

Abdollahian had conducted two previous visit to Muscat after assuming the post of Foreign Minister. During a phone call on April 17, the two Foreign Ministers reviewed bilateral relations and important regional and international issues.

Iranian media reported that the Minister will head to Beirut on Wednesday on a two-day official visit, “during which he will meet with a number of senior Lebanese officials, including Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Foreign Minister Abdallah Bouhabib.”



Saudi Arabia Condemns Israeli Settlement Plans Near Jerusalem

A general view shows the E1 area, an open tract of land east of Jerusalem, between the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, left and the occupied West Bank town of Eizariya, right, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
A general view shows the E1 area, an open tract of land east of Jerusalem, between the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, left and the occupied West Bank town of Eizariya, right, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
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Saudi Arabia Condemns Israeli Settlement Plans Near Jerusalem

A general view shows the E1 area, an open tract of land east of Jerusalem, between the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, left and the occupied West Bank town of Eizariya, right, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
A general view shows the E1 area, an open tract of land east of Jerusalem, between the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, left and the occupied West Bank town of Eizariya, right, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Saudi Arabia strongly condemns the approval by the Israeli authorities to build settlements around the occupied city of Jerusalem and denounces the Israeli foreign minister’s statements against the establishment of a Palestinian state, the Kingdom’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Riyadh regards these actions as violations of international law, the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and the establishment of their sovereign state, and relevant UN Security Council resolutions, foremost among them Resolution 2234, which demands that Israel cease settlement activities in the occupied West Bank, including east Jerusalem, affirms the illegality of Israel’s settlement construction in the territory occupied since 1967, and refers to the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice affirming the invalidity of annexing the occupied Palestinian territories and the need to end the Israeli occupation, the statement said on Thursday.

“These decisions and statements confirm the continuation of the illegal expansionist policies of this Israeli government, in obstruction of the peace process, and the serious threat to the possibility of a two-state solution,” it said.

Israel's behavior requires the international community to assume its legal and moral responsibilities to provide protection for the Palestinian people, meet their legitimate rights, including recognition of the Palestinian state, compel Israel to cease its aggression against Gaza, halt its illegal violations in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, and stop crimes against the Palestinian people, particularly those amounting to genocide, while holding perpetrators accountable, the ministry stated.

The Kingdom reiterates its “categorical rejection of Israeli policies based on settlement expansion, forced displacement, and the denial of the Palestinian people’s legitimate rights.”

It called on the international community, especially the permanent members of the UN Security Council, to take “immediate measures” to compel the Israeli authorities to stop their crimes against the Palestinian people and the occupied Palestinian territories, and to comply with UN resolutions and international law.