TEHRAN – A senior Iranian lawmaker has revealed new details about Oman’s mediatory efforts to de-escalate tensions between Iran and the United States, saying Tehran has agreed an Omani offer in this regard.

The lawmaker, Shahriar Heidari, who is the deputy chairman of the Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said the Omani initiative has also struck a responsive chord with South Korea. 

The remarks came at a time as Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian is visiting Qatar and Oman, with diplomatic efforts underway to include Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in this tour. 

“Oman and Qatar are two good and reliable neighbors of Iran. Many times they announced their readiness to resolve the differences between other countries and Iran. Oman has announced its readiness to resolve disputes between South Korea and Iran. We have no fundamental differences,” Heidari told Iran’s SNN news agency. 

He added, “Our dispute is about Iran's blocked money in South Korea. In this regard, Oman has made a proposal that has been approved by Iran and South Korea. We hope that this proposal will be implemented.”

He also said that holding talks over Iran’s frozen assets in South Korea is on the agenda of Amir Abdollahian’s visit to Oman. 

On Tuesday morning, Amir Abdollahian left Tehran for Qatar at the head of a delegation for talks with high-ranking Qatari officials. Different issues of mutual interest at bilateral, regional and international levels are on the agenda of talks, according to the Iranian foreign ministry. 

In Doha, the Iranian foreign minister met with Sheikh Tamin bin Hamad Al Thani, the emir of Qatar. 

Amir Abdollahian is also expected to visit Oman. A Qatari newspaper said on Monday that Amir Abdollahian is also expected to visit Muscat. 

Citing Iranian sources familiar with the matter, Al Araby Al Jadeed said diplomatic efforts are being done to include Kuwait and the UAE. “The visit to Kuwait and the UAE is not confirmed until this moment, and coordination is underway with the foreign ministries of the two countries to include them in the tour as well,” it said. 

The sources added that the tour “aims to discuss ways to enhance regional rapprochement between Iran and its Arab neighbors in light of the new positive atmosphere.”

The sources pointed out that the visit also comes in the context of the Iranian government's “neighborhood diplomacy”, following up on “issues of common interest” and “strengthening bilateral relations.”

The Qatari newspaper said the importance of Amir Abdollahian's visit to the two countries goes beyond the bilateral relations with them to ongoing developments between Tehran and Washington, as Oman and Qatar are currently playing a mediating role in reducing tension between the two parties, nuclear negotiations and a possible prisoner exchange deal.

Amir Abdollahian's visit to Muscat comes three weeks after Sultan Haitham bin Tarik of Oman visited Tehran and met with senior Iranian officials, amid talks that he had conveyed an American message to them.

Iran is improving relations with its Arab neighbors. Heidari had earlier said President Ebrahim Raisi has prioritized improvement of relations with neighbors and regional countries.