Khaled Al Hameidi
Doha
Qatar is continuing its mediation efforts between the United States and Iran to bridge differences and establish common ground, while facilitating meetings and exchanges of messages between the two sides, Adviser to the Prime Minister and Official Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr Majed bin Mohammed Al Ansari said on Tuesday.
Speaking at the Foreign Ministry’s weekly media briefing, Dr Al Ansari said Qatar had remained committed from the outset to a peaceful solution and was also supporting Pakistani mediation efforts.
He said the past few days had witnessed several meetings and exchanges of messages between the parties, including contacts held in New York on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, as well as earlier engagements. “Any agreement faces obstacles,” Dr Al Ansari said, stressing that the role of mediation is to overcome difficulties and help bridge differences between the parties.
He said meetings and efforts to facilitate communication wereongoing.
On the regional escalation, Dr Al Ansari reiterated Qatar’s strong condemnation of any targeting of regional infrastructure by any party. He said attacks on infrastructure, energy facilities and vessels only undermine the interests of the people, adding that the peoples of the region “do not deserve to be thrust into the fires of this conflict”.
He stressed the need to respect infrastructure and facilities during any regional escalation, noting that threats against them violate the principles of international law and good-neighbourly relations.
On the possibility of non-aggression agreements between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states and Iran, Dr Al Ansari said countries in the region had not chosen to become part of the war and that there was no conflict between the region’s states and Iran. He said Iran had decided to strike countries in the region as a consequence of the war involving Iran, Israel and the US.
Dr Al Ansari urged Iranian officials to take steps to distance themselves and the region from the conflict, stressing that the attacks constituted aggression against sovereign states.
He said GCC states and other countries in the region had long called for a solution based on dialogue.
“Qatar seeks to achieve peaceful coexistence between the region’s nations and Iran,” he said, noting that Doha remained engaged in negotiations despite having itself been subjected to a missile attack by Iran.
He stressed that Qatar had not wavered from its position that dialogue was the only way to resolve the crisis.
Dr Al Ansari called for a security framework based on coexistence, non-aggression and good-neighbourly relations. The first step, he said, was for regional states to acknowledge that they should not be targeted in any future escalation.
He said the current focus was on bridging differences and reaching a peaceful solution that would allow regional states to restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz while addressing their security concerns.
Turning to Gaza and the transition to the second phase, Dr Al Ansari said Qatar had been engaged in the issue from the outset.
He said a meeting of eight Arab and Islamic countries was held in New York, alongside more than 12 meetings at ministerial and other levels to discuss the situation in Gaza and the Palestinian territories more broadly.
Qatar, he said, had been directly involved in the negotiations and had witnessed on several occasions the parties coming close to progress, only for the momentum to be reversed.
He said repeated attempts by the Netanyahu government to undermine ceasefire efforts had contributed to the setbacks.
“What is happening now is nothing new; whenever there is progress in the negotiations, there is an escalation on the ground,” Dr Al Ansari said.
He also warned about developments in the West Bank, saying attempts were being made to impose a new reality there that contradicts the international consensus established since the Oslo Accords.
He welcomed decisions by countries to impose sanctions and take measures against settlement activity in the West Bank, stressing the need to intensify efforts to halt Israeli violations, particularly those involving changes to the status quo in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Dr Al Ansari said the humanitarian situation in Gaza continued to deteriorate, with humanitarian challenges mounting daily.
He said Qatar had made its position clear in New York ahead of the UN General Assembly through the speech delivered by His Highness the Amir of the State of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, as well as through statements by Qatari officials at various meetings, reaffirming the centrality of the Palestinian cause.
He stressed Qatar’s continued efforts, alongside regional partners and the international community, to advance a political solution and support implementation of US President Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza.
On the economic repercussions of the regional developments, Dr Al Ansari said countries in the region supplied the world not only with energy products but also with commodities and materials essential to food security, petrochemical industries and aluminium production.
The region’s role extends beyond investment and procurement activities, he said, warning that disruptions could have wider consequences for the global economy.
