Renewed Tehran-(P)GCC Talks Will Benefit Region

The entire region will benefit from consultations between Iran and its Persian Gulf Arab neighbors, a lawmaker said, commenting on President Hassan Rouhani's Wednesday tour to Oman and Kuwait.

Rouhani's one-day trip came after top Kuwaiti diplomat Sheikh Sabah al-Khalid al-Sabah paid a rare visit to Tehran in late January to deliver a message to Rouhani for promoting dialogue between Iran and its Arab neighbors.

"Negotiations between Iran and members of the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council benefit the region," Qasem Jasemi said in a recent interview with ICANA.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran is recognized as a major regional power and such contacts would limit the presence of the US and its allies in the region."

Relations between Iran and Persian Gulf Arab states worsened after Saudi Arabia unilaterally severed diplomatic ties with the Islamic Republic following the storming of its diplomatic posts by Iranian protestors enraged by the Saudi execution of top Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr without due process of law.

Bahrain followed suit to cut relations, while Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE recalled their envoys.

Oman, however, simply expressed regret over the event. It played a key role in mediating talks between arch-foes Iran and the United States over the Iran nuclear dispute that led to the 2015 nuclear deal. The country's ruler, Sultan Qaboos, made only his second public appearance since his return from medical checks in Germany in April last year when he personally received Rouhani on Wednesday.

Qaboos became the first Arab leader to visit Iran after Rouhani took office in 2013. Rouhani and his accompanying delegation discussed ways of enhancing bilateral cooperation with the Omani side before departing for Kuwait later in the day, at the invitation of its emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah.

During his Kuwait visit, the president held talks with Sheikh Sabah and other top officials of the Arab country.