Iranian Markets Eagerly Await Positive News On Deal With US

Media in Iran speculated on Wednesday that the visit of Omani foreign minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi a day earlier could signal a deal with the United States.

Many news websites in Tehran said that Albusaidi visited Iran for a crucial diplomatic mission, as part of Oman’s traditional mediating role with the United States.

In recent months, US officials have travelled to Oman and held indirect talks with Iranian counterparts, presumably over the fate of American dual nationals held hostage in Tehran. Reports have suggested that the US is willing to allow $7 billion of Iranian funds frozen in South Korea to be released in exchange for the freedom of these prisoners.

Tejarat News, a business website in Tehran said that the currency market is awaiting positive news from the visit of the Omani top diplomat to sell off US dollars. Iran’s rial is near an all-time low against the US currency due to a very high inflation rate said to be at least 70 percent.

On Wednesday, the rial was trading slightly higher at around 486,000 to the US dollar.

Iran’s economy has been starved of most of its oil export revenues since 2018 when the United States pulled of the 2015 JCPOA nuclear deal and imposed sanctions.

The Biden administration, which disagreed with its predecessor over the decision, has unsuccessfully tried to revive the accord as Iran has violated the deal and dangerously increased uranium enrichment.

Despite the secret diplomatic contacts, the Biden administration insists there are no imminent deals with Tehran.