LONDON: Badr Abdelatty, Egypt’s minister of foreign affairs, emphasized the need to persist in negotiations between the US and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program during a phone call with Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. Abdelatty said the negotiations are an important opportunity to achieve calm, avoid escalation, and prevent the region from sliding into greater instability, WAM, the Emirates News Agency, reported. Oman will host the sixth round of negotiations between Iran and the US on Sunday, Oman’s foreign minister said on Thursday.