'We hope regional nations will pragmatically embrace the opportunity to discuss a secure region free from outside interference'

Esmail Baghaei, spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry [Xinhua]
Esmail Baghaei, spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry [Xinhua]

Iran's Foreign Ministry officially confirmed Monday that a meeting of Persian Gulf coastal states' foreign ministers, scheduled to be held in Oman, had been postponed at Saudi Arabia's request.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told a press briefing that day that "it is true that Saudi Arabia requested the meeting be postponed for now," responding to reports from sources claiming Riyadh had opposed holding the meeting, citing attacks on its oil pipelines among other reasons.

On how the bilateral agreement between Iran and Oman would be handled following the postponement, Baghaei said the accord — covering maritime route security and coastal sovereignty — "was the result of weeks of negotiations and had originally been set to be discussed separately at this meeting."

He added that the agreement between the two coastal nations had already been finalized, and that "the next steps, including how the agreement will be announced and registered, will be determined in consultation with the Omani government, after which we will share the relevant details."

Baghaei also expressed disappointment, saying regional countries should not "doubt our rational and forward-looking path because of others' reckless actions or ill will." He said Iran and Oman had hoped neighboring nations would pragmatically embrace the opportunity the two countries had created to discuss building a secure region free from outside interference, despite all existing grievances between permanent neighbors.


mokiya@heraldcorp.com