Before Trump Bombing, Oman FM Called US-Iran Deal 'Within Reach'

Pressed for specifics, Albusaidi said that Iran committed during the talks to renounce the possibility of amassing“nuclear material that will create a bomb” – a pledge that Trump, as part of his justification for Saturday's strikes, would claim Iran had refused to make.

“This is something that is not in the old deal that was negotiated during President Obama's time,” Albusaidi said, referring to the 2015 nuclear accord that Trump ditched during his first term in the White House.

“This is something completely new. It really makes the enrichment argument less relevant, because now we are talking about zero stockpiling. And that is very, very important, because if you cannot stockpile material that is enriched, then there is no way you can actually create a bomb, whether you enrich or don't enrich. And I think this is really something that has been missed a lot by the media, and I want to clarify that from the standpoint of a mediator.”

“There is no accumulation, so there would be zero accumulation, zero stockpiling and full verification,” the Omani foreign minister continued.“Full and comprehensive verification by the IAEA.” He was referring to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

In a social media post following the interview, Albusaidi reiterated that a deal“is now within reach” and implored all parties to“support the negotiators in closing the deal.” Prior to Saturday's attacks, additional US-Iran talks were scheduled for next week.

Watch the full segment, which critics highlighted as evidence that the US-Israeli attacks on Saturday were aimed at forestalling a diplomatic resolution:

Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the US-based Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, wrote in response to Albusaidi's remarks that“the Omanis are famously cautious.”