Iran-Oman relations not changed after death of Sultan Qaboos
Head of the Iran-Oman Joint Chamber of Commerce Mohsen Zarabi said that Sultan Qaboos's successor, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq has same strategy toward Iran.
Speaking to ILNA news agency correspondent, Mohsen Zarabi said “He attended the inauguration of Hassan Rouhani on behalf of Oman and has made numerous trips to Iran in recent years.”
“The political and economic structure of Oman has not changed since the death of Sultan Qaboos therefore Iran continues its past strategy,” he added.
Oman’s Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the Mideast’s longest-ruling monarch who pulled his Arabian sultanate into modernity while carefully balancing diplomatic ties between adversaries Iran and the U.S., has died. He was 79.
The new leader, Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, succeeds Sultan Qaboos, a towering figure who ruled Oman for nearly 50 years. He oversaw its development and pioneered a foreign policy based on good relations with a range of countries, including Saudi Arabia, Israel, the United States and Iran.
In recent years, Oman has been a vital conduit for Iran in diplomatic matters. Most notably, in 2012, the Omanis facilitated secret talks in Muscat for senior American and Iranian officials ahead of the multilateral negotiations for the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Oman’s new sultan, Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, held talked in the capital, Muscat, on issues of mutual interest.
The export of the Iranian products to Oman totaled $768 million and bilateral trade volume reached $1.168 billion, a five-fold increase, despite the outrageous sanctions and economic hardship last year (according to the Iranian calendar).
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