'Dismayed' Oman foreign minister says US-Israeli attacks began with deal in reach
Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi on Saturday denounced the US-Israeli military strikes on Iran, suggesting Washington was duped into war by the Israelis, as a deal was within reach.
Busaidi was one of the main mediators in the talks between Iran and the Trump administration. On Friday evening, he told CBS news that he was confident “a peace deal is within our reach".
Hours later, the US and Israel launched their joint attacks.
“I am dismayed,” he wrote on X. “Active and serious negotiations have yet again been undermined.”
Al Busaidi added that the war does not serve the interests of the US.
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“Neither the interests of the United States nor the cause of global peace are well served by this. And I pray for the innocents who will suffer. I urge the United States not to get sucked in further. This is not your war.”
“We are talking about zero stockpiling ... If you cannot stockpile material that is enriched, then there is no way you can actually create a bomb."
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Speaking on CBS on Friday, Omani foreign minister Badr bin Hamad Albusaidi said Iran had agreed to halt nuclear stockpiling pic.twitter.com/JCQOJJQc5K
In his interview with CBS, Al Busaidi had expressed his confidence in the success of the negotiations despite Trump’s statements that he was not satisfied with the outcome of the talks.
“I am confident, and in my assessment of the way the talks are going, I think there is, really I can see that the peace deal is within our reach,” he told Face the Nation.
'Substantial progress'
He said that mediators had already reached “a substantial progress” with respect to Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
“The single most important achievement, I believe, is the agreement that Iran will never, ever have a nuclear material that will create a bomb,” he said, pointing out that such a pledge was not included under the 2015 deal with then-President Barack Obama.
“This is something completely new. It really makes the enrichment argument less relevant, because now we are talking about zero stockpiling. And that is very, very important, because if you cannot stockpile material that is enriched then there is no way you can actually create a bomb, whether you enrich or don't enrich.”
Asked whether Iran agreed to give up its nuclear enrichment activities, the minister said “they would give it up” and that there would be “zero stockpiling” and “full and comprehensive verification” by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
He added that an agreement has been reached for the current stockpiles to be reduced to the lowest level possible, and “converted into fuel, and that fuel will be irreversible”.
Iran launched retaliatory strikes on Israel as well as various Gulf states on Saturday, following the attacks.
Explosions were heard in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar, where US forces have been targeted.
It is unclear how many Iranians have been killed so far. However, a strike on a school in southern Iran has reportedly killed at least 50 girls, believed to be aged between seven and 12.
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