Omani Sultanate’s Minister responsible for foreign affairs has warned about consequences of military confrontation with Iran.

Omani Sultanate’s Minister responsible for foreign affairs has warned about consequences of military confrontation with Iran.

“It is in the interest of both sides to come to the middle road,” Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, the sultanate’s minister responsible for foreign affairs, told Reuters at the Foreign Ministry in Muscat in reference to the dispute between Iran and the West over Tehran’s nuclear program.

The main bone of contention between Iran and the West is Iran’s uranium enrichment program.

Iran says all its nuclear activities are totally peaceful, and, as an International Atomic Energy Agency member and a nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty signatory, it has the legal right to produce nuclear fuel for its research reactors and nuclear power plants.

Asked about the risk of a Western military strike on Iran, Abdullah said, “Still there is time, but not long, to seize opportunities where the six (Group 5+1) and Iran can meet at a middle road to find a solution to this conflict.”

He was referring to the next round of talks between Iran and the 5+1 group (the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China, and Germany), which is expected to be held in April in Istanbul.

In office since 1982, Abdullah said Oman was doing its best to secure the Strait of Hormuz, through which an average of 14 crude oil tankers pass each day.

“We are doing our best to keep this waterway open for the benefit of international trade and flow of energy to the rest of the world,” Abdullah said. “But there is no guarantee, once the situation is broken, we cannot offer alternatives.”

Abdullah also said Oman would continue to offer its services as a regional broker.