Qatar: US, Iran Discussing Proposals

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - Qatar said on Tuesday that freedom of navigation is non-negotiable and that it rejects any threat to Qatari and other tankers.

It also said Washington and Tehran are discussing proposals aimed at agreed progress, and that both Iranian and American sides show commitment to the negotiating process. The statements came from Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari.

Ansari said Qatar is working toward an agreement that can build trust and strengthen peace in the region. He said Qatar is cooperating with its partners in the region and the international community to end the current crisis, and that there is a high level of coordination among regional countries to achieve a constructive approach to resolving it and to prevent disasters. Efforts to bridge the gap between the US and Iran continue, he said.

Ansari also rejected accusations by Israeli sides that Qatar interfered in the elections, and said Doha will not accept being made a victim. The accusations concern Israel’s elections held last week, not the US midterms. In an official statement on October 29, Ansari wrote that Qatar categorically denied interfering in Israel’s elections or funding any activities meant to influence the outcome, accusing certain Israeli politicians and their contacts in the media of a disinformation campaign. He said Qatar should not be used as a scapegoat for political failures. Israeli media have reported that the Shin Bet is looking into the allegations, while the acting director of Israel’s Central Elections Committee said the elections were conducted lawfully.

The remarks came as the third Qatari delegation in a week traveled to Tehran on Monday night, according to Reuters and The New Arab. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said indirect consultations had become “extremely intensive,” and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Tuesday that Iran had given Washington a strong and rational response and that the ball is in Washington’s court. Iran says it could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within two days if the US lifts its naval blockade and meets Tehran’s demands.

The war began on February 28 when the US and Israel attacked Iran. Iran struck US assets across the region, including in Qatar, and an attack on Qatar’s Ras Laffan gas complex wiped out about 17 percent of its LNG export capacity, according to Reuters. Doha initially stepped back from mediation, and Pakistan became the official mediator. Pakistan brokered a ceasefire on April 8. Qatar re-engaged in May, and Pakistani officials credited it with an important role in the Islamabad memorandum of understanding that the US and Iran signed on June 17.

Ansari has repeatedly put freedom of navigation at the center of Qatar’s position. On April 28 he rejected the use of Hormuz as a “pressure card,” and he has called its closure a very dangerous precedent. He told a briefing on August 4 that Qatar sets no timelines for a deal, and on September 29 that the region’s countries did not choose to be part of the war. Arab sources told The National that Qatar holds at least $20 billion of Iran’s frozen assets, although Ansari has said Doha only manages the funds as an intermediary under a 2023 agreement.