Iran said on Monday, that negotiations over its nuclear deal and prisoner swaps with the United States have been maintained through the Sultanate of Oman. Oman has always held a notable reputation for mediating between Iran and the United States.
Iran on Monday said it has continued indirect negotiations with the Unites States through the Sultanate of Oman over its nuclear deal and a possible prisoner swap.
Iran’s nuclear program has long been the subject of scrutiny from Western powers, resulting in sanctions that have crippled the country’s economy.
A 2015 deal granted Tehran much-needed sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program before it was torpedoed by the United States’ unilateral pullout in 2018.
In recent days, the two capitals have denied media reports that they were close to reaching an interim deal to replace the 2015 accord.
Diplomatic ties between Tehran and Washington soured in 1980 following the 1979 Islamic revolution led by Iran’s first supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear deal have so far failed to yield results.
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday reiterated the denial of moves towards acquiring a nuclear weapon.
He also said deals could be reached, provided they do not change “the existing infrastructure of the nuclear industry”.
Iran and its arch-nemesis the United States have also been involved in Oman-mediated talks over a possible prisoner swap.
At least three Iranian-Americans are being held in Iran, including businessman Siamak Namazi, arrested in October 2015 and sentenced to 10 years in prison for espionage.
In the last few weeks, Iran has released six European citizens and recovered an Iranian diplomat, Assadollah Assadi, who was convicted of terrorism and imprisoned in Belgium.
Khalil Wakim, with AFP
