TEHRAN – The top diplomats of Iran and Oman spoke about the latest developments of talks in Vienna over reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, a day after a senior Qatari diplomat visited Tehran for the same purpose. 

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and his Omani counterpart Badr al-Busaidi spoke about the latest developments in the sanctions removal talks over the phone, the Iranian foreign ministry said in a statement. 

In the conversation, the top Iranian diplomat thanked the Persian Gulf sultanate, saying Iran is carefully studying the US side’s response.

Amirabdollahian added that the Islamic Republic will announce its views once it is done examining the US response and making a conclusion.

Amirabdollahian said, “We are determined to reach a good, lasting and robust deal.”

Oman’s foreign minister for his part appreciated the Islamic Republic of Iran’s constructive and responsible efforts as well as its good will about reaching a deal.

Busaidi expressed hope that the Vienna talks will produce good results thanks to joint cooperation between all parties to the negotiations.

The Omani foreign ministry offered similar details about the call. It said the two foreign ministers dealt with bilateral cooperation relations and emphasized the continuation of serious efforts to resume the activation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the official name of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. 

The phone conversation came a day after Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Ali Bagheri Kani held a meeting with Qatar’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Regional Affairs Mohammad bin Abdul Aziz al-Khulaifi on Saturday evening.

Bagheri Kani pointed to the incumbent Iranian administration’s successful one-year experience in pursuing the neighborly policy and said, “The second step in the neighborly policy is promoting multilateral and regional cooperation.”

The Iranian diplomat highlighted the rapid growth in the already-excellent Tehran-Doha relations, especially over the past year, saying, “We welcome Qatar’s effective role in advancing the second phase of Iran’s neighborly policy and bolstering multilateral regional cooperation.”

Elsewhere, the deputy foreign minister for political affairs said, addressing the issue of Palestine is a human and Islamic duty on the shoulder of all regional countries and added, “Any lasting regional arrangements depend on the realization of the Palestinian nation’s rights.”

The Iranian foreign ministry did not say if the meeting dealt with the nuclear file. But the Qatari foreign ministry said the situation around the nuclear deal was discussed in the meeting. 

The Qatari foreign ministry said in a statement that the meeting also included discussions on the talks in Vienna over reviving a 2015 nuclear deal officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

“During the meeting, they reviewed the bilateral relations, the developments in the ongoing negotiations to return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with the United States, as well as a number of issues of common interest,” the Qatari statement said. 

The statement added that the Qatari diplomat “stressed the importance of advancing further in order to revive the nuclear agreement which is in the interest of the security and stability of the region, expressing the State of Qatar's aspiration for a close agreement between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

The Qatari diplomat also spoke over the phone with Enrique Mora, the European Union's coordinator for Vienna talks, after his meeting with Bagheri Kani. 

“During the phone call, the two sides reviewed aspects of the bilateral cooperation between the State of Qatar and the European Union, and the developments in the negotiations to return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran's nuclear program, in addition to issues of common concern,” the Qatari foreign ministry said in a separate statement. 

The statement said that al-Khulaifi “expressed the State of Qatar's appreciation for the efforts exerted by the European Union to bring views of the parties closer together in order to revive the Iranian nuclear agreement; affirming that reaching a just agreement that takes into account the concerns of all parties is in the interest of the security and stability of the region.”