Al Ansari: Qatar continues U.S.-Iran mediation despite Tehran’s Gulf attacks

Qatar says it remains actively engaged in mediating between Iran and the U.S. despite Tehran’s attacks on Gulf states, warning that continued conflict risks global economic fallout.Qatar is continuing to mediate between Iran and the United States despite Tehran’s unwarranted aggression against Qatar and other regional states, as Doha works to bridge differences and prevent further escalation.Speaking at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ weekly press briefing on Tuesday, Advisor to the Prime Minister and Official Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Majed Al Ansari said Qatar continues to hold meetings with both sides, exchange messages and discuss possible solutions to establish common ground for an agreement.“We are exchanging messages between the parties and we are working towards establishing common ground in order to get into a deal that would save all of us from the repercussions of the conflict,” Al Ansari said.Asked what Qatar was doing to break the current impasse, he said meetings were being held with both parties and ideas exchanged over possible solutions.“It’s a continued effort and an ongoing effort and we hope to continue doing it as long as we can,” he added.The diplomatic push is continuing even after Qatar and other countries in the region were targeted by Iran during its wider conflict with the United States and Israel.Al Ansari stressed that the GCC states, alongside Iraq and Jordan, did not choose to become parties to the war, adding that there is no specific conflict between these countries and Iran.Iran must keep neighbouring states out of the wider conflictAl Ansari responded to a question on whether the current impasse between Washington and Tehran could create room for a separate non-aggression agreement between Iran and Arab states, potentially helping restore movement through the Strait of Hormuz while broader mediation continues.He rejected the idea that the situation represented a separate conflict between Iran and its neighbours requiring its own resolution.“Iran decided to bomb our countries as a result of the war with the United States and Israel,” Al Ansari said. “And therefore, I don’t see this as a separate issue, a siloed issue that needs a resolution between us and Iran.”Instead, he said Iranian officials must make a clear decision to keep neighbouring countries out of the conflict and adopt a position of non-aggression towards them.At the same time, Al Ansari said Gulf states have consistently sought dialogue with Tehran and maintained efforts towards peaceful coexistence.That approach, he said, has continued despite Iranian missiles targeting countries in the region.“Our focus right now is on bridging the gap and finding a resolution that would allow us to go back to full freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz,” the MoFA spokesperson said.How long can the international economy withstand?Al Ansari also warned that the consequences of prolonged instability in the Gulf extend far beyond the economies of Qatar and its neighbouring countries.Responding to a question about how long Qatar and other Gulf economies could sustain the costs of the conflict, the MoFA spokesperson challenged the premise, saying the more pressing question was how long the international economy could withstand the consequences of what is happening in the region.He pointed to the Gulf’s role in supplying the world not only with energy but also with products critical to global food security and industry, including urea, ammonia, helium, petrochemicals and aluminium.While saying there was no clear timeline for how long the global economy could withstand the disruption, Al Ansari warned that each additional day of conflict was adding to the strain.Al Ansari declined to confirm Washington’s position on U.S. President Donald Trump’s offer to provide Iran with economic relief in return for concrete nuclear concessions, saying U.S. officials should clarify the president’s statements.He reiterated that Qatar’s role remained focused on exchanging messages between the parties and working towards common ground for a deal that could bring the conflict to an end.Al Ansari also declined to speculate on whether the U.S. could carry out another strike against Iran, but said Qatar remained concerned about any renewed escalation.“Not reaching a peaceful resolution would result in hardship for all of us in the region,” Al Ansari said. “And we are working actively towards making sure that doesn’t happen.”