Omani Sultan Haitham bin Tarik convened high-level discussions at Al Baraka Palace on Tuesday with Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. The primary focus was on establishing new arrangements for managing the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, a crucial maritime corridor.
This meeting followed an intense 18-hour quadrilateral negotiation held over the weekend at the Bürgenstock resort in Switzerland, facilitated by Pakistan and Qatar. These talks aimed to implement the recently agreed “Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding,” a 14-point framework designed to reduce regional tensions, address nuclear issues, and guarantee uninterrupted international shipping through this key chokepoint.
During the discussions, the Iranian delegation updated Sultan Haitham on the progress of the ongoing Tehran-Washington dialogue. The Sultan expressed Muscat’s firm support for the diplomatic efforts and optimism for a peaceful resolution to outstanding regional conflicts.
A central topic was Paragraph 5 of the Islamabad agreement, which calls for bilateral dialogue between Iran and Oman to define future governance, safety protocols, and maritime services within the Strait of Hormuz. This channel is critical as it handles a significant share of the world’s oil shipments and has been the focus of regional initiatives to ensure long-term stability and prevent blockades.
Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi also participated in the talks, where both parties stressed that any new framework must respect the sovereign rights of coastal nations while strictly adhering to international maritime law.
Led by Qalibaf as chief negotiator, the Iranian delegation arrived in Muscat late Monday after a brief stop in Tehran following the Swiss negotiations. This ongoing diplomatic engagement underscores Muscat’s historic role as a trusted mediator in the region and reflects a shared commitment among Gulf neighbors to seize the current diplomatic opportunity to permanently ease tensions and restore confidence in global energy transit routes.
