Qatar: Mediation Between Iran and USA going Positive

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - Qatar’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday that mediation efforts between Washington and Tehran continue and that there are positive responses from both sides of the crisis, according to the statements provided to Kurdistan 24. The ministry said Qatar is working tirelessly to end the uncertainty of “neither peace nor war” in the US-Iran crisis, and said the meeting of Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister with the US president at the White House was positive.

The ministry warned that the approach of winter, with the Strait of Hormuz still closed, doubles the cost of the continuing crisis between Washington and Tehran. It condemned the attacks on Saudi Arabia and renewed its support for all the measures taken by the kingdom to protect its security, saying Qatar’s government is fully aligned with Saudi Arabia on them. The statements did not say which attacks or which measures it meant.

Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani met President Donald Trump for about 45 minutes on Monday, after meeting Vice President JD Vance, and described the discussions on reaching a deal as positive. Trump said afterward that there is “positive momentum” toward ending the conflict, and Axios reported that he told the Qatari leader he would give negotiations a chance but could reverse course if Tehran does not engage seriously. At its briefing on November 3, the ministry said a Qatari delegation had held more than three hours of talks in Tehran, that both sides were reviewing proposals, and that “bridging the gap is still a work in progress,” with no breakthrough to announce. Qatar condemned Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia then too. Iran says it can reopen Hormuz within two days if the US meets its conditions, including ending the blockade, while Trump has said the Gulf states prefer to keep the blockade in place.