The Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araqchi, landed this Saturday in Muscat, the capital of Oman, with the aim of addressing the extremely fragile scenario of the talks with the United States, after a week marked by exchanges of bombings and a new ultimatum from Washington for Tehran to publicly announce this Saturday the unrestricted opening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Araqchi indicated that in his meetings with the Omani authorities, he focused on the management of passage through the Strait of Hormuz. In particular, they have shared positions on "the appropriate mechanism for the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz in accordance with Article 5 of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding," alluding to the preliminary agreement reached between Washington and Tehran to end the war.
During his stay, the head of Iranian diplomacy met with his Omani counterpart, Badr al Busaidi, who until the outbreak of the war on February 28 acted as a liaison between the two countries in a series of talks on the future of the Iranian nuclear program, interrupted after the wave of joint attacks by the United States and Israel against the Iranian capital and other strategic enclaves.
"The Foreign Ministers of Iran and Oman have discussed bilateral Tehran-Muscat relations in various areas, as well as regional developments, particularly the issue of the Strait of Hormuz," Araqchi stated on his social media accounts.
The Iranian official also expressed to Al Busaidi his appreciation for the assistance of the Speaker of the Omani Parliament at the funeral of the late Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, who died on February 28, coinciding with the first day of the most recent joint military offensive by Israel and the United States against Iran.
The trip takes place while Washington's latest warning remains in effect: US official sources have confirmed that the United States has set this Saturday as a deadline for Iran to publicly announce that it will allow free, safe, and unrestricted navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
"The Trump administration demands that Iran issue a public statement on Saturday recognizing the opening of the Strait of Hormuz and committing to cease attacks against merchant ships," US officials told the press at a press conference on Friday, according to Axios and the 'Wall Street Journal'.
According to these sources, the demands have been communicated to the Iranian representatives both directly and through the mediation of Pakistan and Qatar.