Muscat [Oman], February 23: Oman's Foreign Minister Badr Al Busaidi has confirmed that further talks between the United States and Iran will take place on Thursday amid spiralling tensions between the two countries.
"Pleased to confirm US-Iran negotiations are now set for Geneva this Thursday, with a positive push to go the extra mile towards finalizing the deal," Albusaidi said in a social media post on Sunday.
The announcement comes as the US continues to bolster its military assets in the region, raising concerns about an all-out war against Iran.
Hours before Oman's announcement, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran was ready to put in place a "full monitoring mechanism" to guarantee the peaceful nature of its nuclear programme and ease tensions.
Asked by Face the Nation moderator Margaret Brennan why Iran would want to pursue enrichment on its soil rather than buy enriched uranium from abroad, given the US military build-up and risk of an escalation, Araghchi said the issue was a matter of "dignity and pride" for Iranians.
"We have developed this technology by ourselves, by our scientists, and it is very dear to us because we have created it - we have paid a huge expense for that," he said. Araghchi cited among the costs two decades of US sanctions, the targeted killings of Iranian scientists, and US-Israeli attacks on nuclear facilities in June.
Source: Qatar Tribune