Qatar PM Al Thani Arrives In Tehran: Here’s The Reason For His Visit As Iran-US Tensions Continue

Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani will visit Tehran on Thursday as Doha tries to restart diplomacy between Iran and the United States after months of war, stalled talks and rising economic pressure. The Iran war has largely fallen quiet on the military front, but no diplomatic breakthrough has emerged. Al-Thani is expected to discuss Qatar’s mediation efforts, regional developments, freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and ways to create conditions for dialogue.

Qatar, despite being a US ally and a Gulf neighbour of Iran, has acted as a back-channel mediator between the two sides. Doha also played a direct role in securing the June ceasefire, which briefly stopped the fighting. The Iran war now approaches its sixth month, with Washington shifting more attention towards sanctions and Tehran continuing to use the Strait of Hormuz as leverage.

Iran war diplomacy: why Qatar is stepping in again

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Al-Thani would discuss the continuation of Qatar’s mediation and other regional developments. Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said the prime minister would also push for freedom of navigation through Hormuz and a return to the situation before February 28, while discussing ways to “de-escalate tensions and create the conditions conducive to dialogue.”

The Iran war has severely complicated control of the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman. Before the conflict, around one-fifth of the world’s oil supplies passed through the strait. Iran and Oman have held weeks of on-and-off talks over traffic control and revenues, while Tehran and Washington have each sought to impose separate blockades.

Iran war fallout: Hormuz remains at centre of dispute

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Wednesday that Tehran and Oman had reached an understanding on controlling the waterway and sharing its revenues. But a senior Iranian source told Reuters, “An agreement with Oman over the Strait of Hormuz has not been finalised,” adding that talks were still continuing.

Brigadier General Hossein Mohebbi, an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps spokesperson, gave a different account, saying Iran and Oman had “reached results that are acceptable to both sides.” He said Hormuz would remain closed unless Washington met Tehran’s conditions under the June interim ceasefire memorandum, including ending the US blockade of Iranian ports, compensation and lifting sanctions.

Iran war enters economic phase as oil flows plunge

The US military’s Central Command has reported no attacks on Iran for nearly a month, but Washington is increasing economic pressure by threatening sanctions against Iran’s trading partners. Hormuz oil flows have dropped to a three-month low, with only about 5 million barrels per day crossing the strait on Monday, compared with roughly 20 million barrels per day before the Iran war began on February 28.

The security situation remains dangerous. A projectile struck a tanker in the strait early Thursday, causing a fire that was later extinguished. The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency said all crew members were safe. The International Maritime Organization has recorded 70 incidents in Hormuz since February 28, killing 19 seafarers.

Iran war tensions: why Hormuz matters to Qatar and Washington

Despite heavy aerial bombardment that badly weakened Iran’s conventional forces, Tehran still has missile and drone capabilities that could threaten Gulf states hosting US military bases and disrupt tanker traffic.

Thousands of people, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, have died since the US and Israel launched attacks with stated aims of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, helping Iranians overthrow their government and destroying its missile programme. Against that backdrop, Qatar’s latest diplomatic push is focused on reopening dialogue while trying to prevent the Iran war from reigniting around Hormuz.

(with inputs from Reuters)

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