Oman top diplomat in Iran for second time within week

Iran's top diplomat Mohammad Javad Zarif hosted his Omani counterpart Yusuf bin Alawi on Sunday for the second time within a week for talks on security in the sensitive Gulf. Alawi was making the visit to Tehran on the tail end of his trip to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, which Zarif skipped after scheduling changes to the annual event.

Zarif and Alawi discussed "bilateral cooperation regarding the Strait of Hormuz and emphasised their governments' will... to guarantee maritime and energy security for all," Iran's foreign ministry said in a statement. It was their second meeting in the Iranian capital since Tuesday and at least their fourth encounter since late July.

Zarif's withdrawal from Davos was due to "unilateral changes in mutually agreed arrangements on part of WEF", Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said in a tweet. The spokesman lamented that it was a "missed opportunity for dialogue".