Qatar Invites Gulf Arab States to Talk with Iran

Doha, MINA – Qatar urged the Gulf Arab countries to dialogue with Iran. The Middle Eastern country said now is the right time for Doha to mediate negotiations between the neighboring countries to resolve their differences.

Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said his government hopes negotiations can take place. Sheik Mohammed has long encouraged the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to hold a meeting with Iran.

“This is also a passion that is shared with other GCC countries,” said Al Thani, on Bloomberg TV on Tuesday.

The statement was made several days before President-elect Joe Biden was inaugurated. Biden promised to bring the US back to the 2015 nuclear deal or the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreed between Iran and six world powers.

The plan to withdraw Donald Trump’s ‘maximum pressure’ policy has the support of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Biden has already revealed the names of a number of diplomats who will help him make the most important policies.

Qatar has just mended a rift with its neighbors for three years. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt blocked Qatar, which they accused of supporting armed militias and easing pressure on Iran.

As one of the US’s key allies in the world’s biggest oil exporting region, Qatar denies it supports terrorism. The country maintains relations with Iran, which shares oil refineries with them in the Persian Gulf.

This puts the world’s largest gas exporter to play an intermediary role. At the same time, the White House is seeking to forge a broader relationship in the Middle East and change their earlier, more confrontational approach.

Sheik Mohammed said his government had an offer to do just that. He said he was ready to assist in discussions between Iran and South Korea to free the South Korean tanker that was seized by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards earlier this month.

“When asked by stakeholders, Qatar will facilitate negotiations and will support whoever chooses to do it, we want to achieve it, we want to see an agreement happen,” Sheik Mohammed said of potential talks between the US and Iran.

Sheikh Mohammed said even though Qatar offered itself as a mediator in the region but there are still a number of differences that need to be resolved with the United Arab Emirates. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)