Yemen Monitor / Newsroom:
Iranian media revealed on Friday that a meeting was held in the Omani capital, Muscat, between the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, and Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Majid Takht Ravanchi. The discussions focused on the latest political and field developments in Yemen, the roadmap towards a comprehensive peace agreement, and the country’s worsening humanitarian crisis.
According to the same reports, the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister held a separate meeting with the chief negotiator of the Houthi group, Mohammed Abdul Salam. They reviewed the field developments and efforts to resume the political process amidst rising tensions on the Yemeni and regional scenes.
Omani-Iranian Coordination and Renewed UN Movement
This diplomatic activity comes one day after talks between Omani Foreign Minister Badr Al-Busaidi and Takht Ravanchi, during which they discussed current regional and international dossiers. They emphasized the importance of continued consultation between the two countries and support for peaceful solutions to conflicts, according to a statement from the Omani Foreign Ministry.
These meetings occur at a time when the region is experiencing growing concern due to escalation in several key areas, most notably Yemen, which has returned to the forefront of international attention after months of stalemate in communications between the parties involved in the peace process.
Resumption of Communications between Houthis and UN
The meeting between Grundberg and the Iranian side, viewed as a main supporter of the Houthi group, is a notable development following the resumption of communications between the UN envoy and the group’s leadership in Muscat after a six-month hiatus.
Mohammed Abdul Salam had announced via platform “X” that he discussed with Grundberg “the roadmap agreed upon with the Saudi side under the auspices of the Sultanate of Oman,” stressing the necessity of implementing its humanitarian provisions without delay.
Concurrently, stern statements were issued by Houthi leaders suggesting the potential for a return to military escalation if the group’s demands are not met. The head of the Houthi’s internationally unrecognized government in Sana’a, Abdulaziz bin Habtour, stated, “We say to those who take measures to restrict our people’s livelihood, the equation of ‘bank for bank, airport for airport, and port for port’ has not fallen,” hinting at threats to resume targeting Saudi facilities if the settlement path falters.
This simultaneous diplomatic activity in Muscat occurs alongside unannounced negotiations, led by the Sultanate of Oman between the Houthi group and Saudi Arabia, aimed at sparing the region a new wave of military escalation.
According to diplomatic sources who previously spoke to “Yemen Monitor,” the Omani efforts are attempting to bring the parties back to the dialogue table amid fears that the situation could slide towards a broader regional confrontation if the current mediations fail.
