TEHRAN/MUSCAT, April 26 (Xinhua) — Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi arrived in Islamabad on Sunday for a second visit within around 24 hours, returning from a brief stop in Oman as diplomatic activity over the region’s fragile ceasefire intensified, Iran’s Mehr news agency reported.
In Oman, Araghchi met Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, where he said the 40-day war with the United States and Israel had demonstrated that American military presence in the Middle East fuelled instability, and called on regional states to build collective security arrangements excluding Washington, according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry.
The sultan reaffirmed Oman’s commitment to regional peace and expressed hope for a swift and lasting end to hostilities, the Omani Foreign Ministry said.
Oman had been the main mediator between Tehran and Washington when, on Feb. 28, Israel and the United States launched joint strikes on Tehran and other Iranian cities, despite expectations of another round of talks. The strikes killed Iran’s then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and senior military commanders, according to Iranian officials. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israeli and U.S. interests across the region.
A ceasefire took effect on April 8. Peace talks held in Pakistan on April 11-12 ended without agreement.
Araghchi met Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad on Saturday, with discussions centred on the prospects for Iran-U.S. negotiations, before departing for Muscat. He returned to the Pakistani capital on Sunday afternoon.
