Prisoner swap deal indicative of Iran success: Omani analyst
Zaher bin Harith al-Mahrouqi, an Omani political analyst, has said that the recent deal between Iran and the U.S. over the release of frozen funds and prisoners demonstrates Iran’s policy success.
“The recent agreement between Iran and the United States on the release of prisoners and the lifting of restrictions on Iran's blocked assets shows the success of Iran's policy. Because the Islamic Republic came from an equal position with America and did not give in to Washington's blackmail,” al-Mahrouqi said in an interview with ILNA, adding, “Tehran accepted the negotiation from the position of strength and only under the condition of fulfilling its conditions. For this reason, this agreement was reached just when some people were beating the drum of war against Iran.”
The Omani analyst also referred to Muscat’s mediatory role. “I must mention the mediations that some neighboring countries, including Oman, did in this case. Because Oman's policy is based on the principle that the stability of Iran leads to the stability of the region,” he said.
Al-Mahrouqi pointed out that “The current agreement is not the final agreement, because the relations between Iran and the West are associated with many tensions, including Iran's support for Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as the Palestinian resistance in Gaza, which worries Israel.”
He continued, “There should not be much hope for progress in relations between Iran and the West, especially the United States, which is committed to the security of Israel. It takes years to build trust.”
He also pointed to the advantages of convergence among Iran and its Arab neighbors, saying that such convergence thwarts the danger of war in the region.