TEHRAN - Yusef bin Alawi, the Omani foreign minister, held talks in Tehran on Sunday with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

Alawi was in Tehran on January 21 for talks with Zarif. 

Alawi arrived in Tehran on Sunday directly from Davos, where world leaders gathered to discuss global, regional and industry agendas.

The visits by Oman’s chief diplomat comes as Iran and the U.S. came close to a full-fledged war in early January as the U.S. army assassinated top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and Iran retaliated by striking U.S. military bases in Iraq with dozens of ballistic missiles.

According to a report by the Iranian Foreign Ministry, the two chief diplomats discussed regional issues, especially Iran-Oman cooperation in the Strait of Hormuz.

Zarif and Alawi said that the Iranian and Omani governments are determined to continue cooperation and consultations in line with guaranteeing the safety of navigation and energy supply, the Foreign Ministry said.

The Strait of Hormuz is a strategic artery linking the Middle East crude producers to key markets in the Asia Pacific, Europe, North America and beyond.

It is a waterway separating Iran and Oman, connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. It is 21 miles wide at its narrowest point, but the shipping lane is only two miles wide in either direction.

In their meeting in Tehran in December, the Iranian and Omani foreign ministers discussed key international issues, bilateral ties and Tehran-initiated Hormuz Peace Endeavor (HOPE).

At the United Nations summit in New York in late September, Iran officially unveiled the proposal for regional security.

“Based upon the historical responsibility of my country in maintaining security, peace, stability, and progress in the Persian Gulf region and Strait of Hormuz, I would like to invite all the countries directly affected by the developments in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz to the ‘Coalition for Hope’, meaning Hormuz Peace Endeavor,” President Hassan Rouhani told the UN delegates.

Foreign Minister Zarif has invited all regional states to join the peace plan for securing the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.

In a tweet in September, Zarif said the initiative entails “dialogue, confidence-building, freedom of navigation, energy security, non-aggression, and non-intervention”.

In a post on his Twitter account on October 15, Zarif renewed Iran’s call to all countries bordering the Persian Gulf to join Tehran to “forge a blueprint for peace, security, stability, and prosperity” in the region.

NA/PA