Oman sultan's Iran visit sparks hopes of progress in nuclear standoff | World news | theguardian.com

Oman sultan's Iran visit sparks hopes of progress in nuclear standoff | World news | theguardian.com:

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Oman's Sultan Qaboos bin Said (left) meets Iran's president, Hassan Rouhani, in Tehran.
Photograph: Irna handout/Reuters

The first visit by a foreign leader to Iran since Hassan Rouhani assumed the presidency came earlier this week with the arrival of Oman's sultan, Qaboos bin Said Al Said. Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's new foreign minister, officially greeted Sultan Qaboos at Tehran's Mehrabad Airport on Sunday, and then saw him off personally on Tuesday.

While the sultanate, which lies across the Gulf of Oman from Iran, has limited geopolitical importance, its ruler's trip received heavy coverage in the Iranian media – a level of attention no doubt amplified by the fact that it came amid the dog days of the Tehran summer. Stories spread that there was a secret agenda to his meetings with Iranian officials, involving claims that he came to convey messages from the United States and then to relay Iran's response to White House officials.

According to the principlist website Asr-e Iran, Qaboos is supposed to set the stage for indirect negotiations between Iran and the United States. Iranian media outlets, before and after the sultan's visit, have claimed that he has received provisional US approval for his proposals."

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