Pezeshkian Visits Oman Next Week to Enhance Relations

A handout photo made available by the Iranian Presidential Office shows Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (L) greeting Oman's Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi at a meeting in Tehran, Iran, 18 May 2025. EPA/IRANIAN PRESIDENT OFFICE HANDOUT
A handout photo made available by the Iranian Presidential Office shows Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (L) greeting Oman's Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi at a meeting in Tehran, Iran, 18 May 2025. EPA/IRANIAN PRESIDENT OFFICE HANDOUT
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Pezeshkian Visits Oman Next Week to Enhance Relations

A handout photo made available by the Iranian Presidential Office shows Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (L) greeting Oman's Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi at a meeting in Tehran, Iran, 18 May 2025. EPA/IRANIAN PRESIDENT OFFICE HANDOUT
A handout photo made available by the Iranian Presidential Office shows Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (L) greeting Oman's Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi at a meeting in Tehran, Iran, 18 May 2025. EPA/IRANIAN PRESIDENT OFFICE HANDOUT

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is scheduled to visit next week the Sultanate of Oman, the mediator in the ongoing indirect nuclear talks between the US and Iran, official Iranian media reported.

They quoted a spokesman for the presidency as saying that during the visit to Muscat, Pezeshkian will hold bilateral meetings with senior officials.

The announcement came one day after Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi held talks with the Iranian President and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on the sidelines of the Tehran Dialogue Forum.

Oman’s Foreign Ministry, which has been acting as a mediator between Tehran and Washington since April 12, will officially reveal the time and location of the fifth round of indirect nuclear talks between the two sides.

Last week, the US and Iran concluded a fourth round of nuclear talks in Muscat amid cautious optimism about a new accord that would prevent Tehran from having a nuclear weapon.

During his meeting with Albusaidi, Pezeshkian said that his upcoming trip to Oman will serve as a turning point in deepening relations between the two sides.

He praised bilateral relations between Iran and Oman, and hailed Muscat for its benevolent, committed, and constructive role in hosting the indirect negotiations between Tehran and Washington.

“We hope that through the sincere and genuine efforts and intentions of Sultan Haitham bin Tarik, these talks will lead to a just agreement that ensures lasting peace and stability in the region,” said Pezeshkian.

Later, Omani and Iranian foreign ministers held a meeting to discuss the nuclear issue.

“The two ministers discussed a range of ideas and proposals related to the ongoing Iranian-American talks aimed at reaching an agreement that fairly, practically and bindingly addresses the concerns and interests of both parties, and contributes to regional security and stability,” Oman’s official news agency said in a statement.

Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani then joined the meeting and the three ministers discussed the Iranian-US nuclear talks.

The meeting hoped Washington and Tehran will reach a fair, durable, and binding agreement, one that reinforces security, stability, and peace across the region, while elevating new heights for regional cooperation and dialogue.

Later at the Tehran Dialogue Forum, Oman’s Foreign Minister expressed optimism regarding recent signals, particularly from Washington, which he said may reflect a shift towards a more realistic and flexible approach to identifying viable dialogue partners.
He underlined that dialogue is not an easy option, but added that it is the only viable path to achieving a just settlement.

“While this development comes amid military escalation and immense humanitarian suffering, it points to a renewed willingness for genuine dialogue — even as Tel Aviv continues to avoid it through intensifying conflict on multiple fronts,” Albusaidi said.

Commenting on Pezeshkian’s visit to Oman, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said: “The visit of high-ranking Iranian and Omani officials to Muscat and Tehran is a normal thing and there are good relations between the two countries.”

He added: “The President's visit to Oman has been on the agenda for some time and this visit will be carried out and its details will be announced by the President's Office.”

The Iranian President’s upcoming trip to Oman comes following a visit to Baku last month.

Like Iran’s previous government, Pezeshkian's administration, which has been in office since August 2024, has articulated a “neighborly policy” that has at its core improved relations with Iran's Arab neighbors.

In May 2023, Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said visited Tehran for talks that focused on regional diplomatic and security issues. His visit was the first since he took office in 2020. It came a year after former President Ebrahim Raisi visited the Sultanate.

Iran, which faces a deteriorating economy hit by US sanctions, is seeking to strengthen its trade ties with Muscat.

Last February, Iran’s Industry, Mining, and Trade Minister Mohammad Atabak said his country exported approximately $1.146 billion worth of goods to Oman in the first nine months of 2024, marking a 15% increase compared to the same period last year.



Trump Says US Would Need Two Weeks to Hit All Iran Targets

 08 May 2026, US, Washington: US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters ahead of departing on Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House. (Jen Golbeck/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
08 May 2026, US, Washington: US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters ahead of departing on Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House. (Jen Golbeck/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
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Trump Says US Would Need Two Weeks to Hit All Iran Targets

 08 May 2026, US, Washington: US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters ahead of departing on Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House. (Jen Golbeck/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
08 May 2026, US, Washington: US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters ahead of departing on Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House. (Jen Golbeck/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)

US President Donald Trump has said in an interview aired Sunday that it would only take two weeks to hit "every single target" in Iran, adding that the country was "militarily defeated."

In the interview with independent journalist Sharyl Attkisson, which was recorded last week, he also called NATO a "paper tiger" and accused Washington's allies of failing to assist in the campaign against Tehran.

The comments come as Iran is reported to have responded to the latest US proposal on ending a conflict that began on February 28 with US and Israeli strikes on Iran.

"They're militarily defeated. In their own minds, maybe they don't know that. But I think they do," Trump said in the interview, before adding: "That doesn't mean they're done."

He suggested the US military could "go in for two more weeks and do every single target. We have certain targets that we wanted, and we've done probably 70 percent of them, but we have other targets that we could conceivably hit."

"But even if we didn't do that, you know, that would just be final touches," Trump said.

On NATO, he said the alliance "has proven to be a paper tiger. They weren't there to help."


Russia Accuses Ukraine of Violating US-Brokered Three-Day Truce

A drone engine lies near as Ukrainian rescuers and local people inspect the site of a Russian strike on a residential area in Kharkiv, Ukraine, 07 May 2026, amid the ongoing Russian invasion. (EPA)
A drone engine lies near as Ukrainian rescuers and local people inspect the site of a Russian strike on a residential area in Kharkiv, Ukraine, 07 May 2026, amid the ongoing Russian invasion. (EPA)
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Russia Accuses Ukraine of Violating US-Brokered Three-Day Truce

A drone engine lies near as Ukrainian rescuers and local people inspect the site of a Russian strike on a residential area in Kharkiv, Ukraine, 07 May 2026, amid the ongoing Russian invasion. (EPA)
A drone engine lies near as Ukrainian rescuers and local people inspect the site of a Russian strike on a residential area in Kharkiv, Ukraine, 07 May 2026, amid the ongoing Russian invasion. (EPA)

Russia accused Kyiv of breaking a US-brokered ceasefire on Sunday, while Ukrainian officials said that one person had been killed and more injured by Russian drone and artillery strikes in the past 24 hours.

Two people were injured by Ukrainian shelling in the Russian-occupied part of Ukraine's Kherson region, the area's Moscow-installed leader Vladimir Saldo said.

Separately, Russia's Ministry of Defense accused Kyiv of committing more than 1,000 ceasefire violations, state media reported, citing a daily briefing on Sunday. The ministry said Ukrainian forces had attacked civilian targets in several Russian regions and carried out strikes against Russian military positions on the front line.

Russia's military “responded in kind” to the ceasefire violations,” the ministry said.

Ukrainian officials said Russia had launched attacks, although they stopped short of accusing Moscow of violating the US-brokered truce that came into force on Saturday.

Ivan Fedorov, head of Ukraine's southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, said one person had been killed and three more injured by artillery and drone attacks in the past 24 hours.

Oleksandr Prokudin, the head of Ukraine's Kherson, said that seven people had been wounded over the same period.

Five people were also injured when a Russian drone attack damaged a nine-storey apartment block in the industrial district of Ukraine’s second-largest city, Oleh Syniehubov, the head of the Kharkiv regional administration, said late Saturday.

US President Donald Trump said Friday that Russia and Ukraine had bowed to his request for a ceasefire running Saturday through Monday to mark Victory Day, the Russian celebration marking the defeat of Nazi Germany.

Trump said there would also be an exchange of prisoners, declaring that the break in fighting could be the “beginning of the end” of the war.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who had said Russian authorities “fear drones may buzz over Red Square” during the May 9 parade in Moscow, followed up on Trump’s statement by mockingly declaring Red Square temporarily off-limits for Ukrainian strikes to allow the Russian parade to go ahead. The Kremlin shrugged off the comment as a “silly joke.”

Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said on Sunday he expects US envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who have both taken a leading role in negotiations to end the war, to visit Moscow “soon enough.”

However, he stressed that Moscow would not move from its demand that Kyiv's troops withdraw from Ukraine's eastern Donbas region.

“Until (Ukraine) takes that step, we can hold several more rounds, dozens of rounds (of negotiations), but we’ll be stuck in the same place,” Ushakov was cited by the state news agency Tass as saying.


Iran's Supreme Leader Briefs Military Chief on 'New Guiding Measures'

An Iranian woman walks a mosque decorated with a banner depicting Iran's current leader Mojtaba Khamenei, in the capital Tehran on May 9, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) /
An Iranian woman walks a mosque decorated with a banner depicting Iran's current leader Mojtaba Khamenei, in the capital Tehran on May 9, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) /
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Iran's Supreme Leader Briefs Military Chief on 'New Guiding Measures'

An Iranian woman walks a mosque decorated with a banner depicting Iran's current leader Mojtaba Khamenei, in the capital Tehran on May 9, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) /
An Iranian woman walks a mosque decorated with a banner depicting Iran's current leader Mojtaba Khamenei, in the capital Tehran on May 9, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) /

The head of Iran's armed forces unified command met Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and received from him "new guiding measures to pursue military operations and ‌firmly confront ‌adversaries", the ‌semi-official Fars ⁠news reported on ⁠Sunday.

The Fars report said that Ali Abdollahi, who commands the Khatam al-Anbiya Central ⁠Headquarters, had briefed ‌Khamenei ‌on the readiness of ‌the country’s armed ‌forces. It did not say when their meeting took place, Reuters said.

"The ‌armed forces are ready to confront any ⁠action ⁠by the American-Zionist (Israeli) enemies. In case of any error by the enemy, Iran's response will be swift, severe, and decisive," Abdollahi was reported as saying.