Six months into the conflict, Qatar’s prime minister travelled to Tehran on Thursday to try to restart diplomatic relations after US President Donald Trump declared that Washington was not currently in contact with Iran, saying, “We don’t want to speak to them.” After the White House said that a US economic campaign against Tehran would continue unless Iran decided to engage in real negotiations, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, “We’re not looking to meet or anything.” There hasn’t been much progress toward a broader peace deal or the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial maritime route, but major military operations have been suspended for weeks. The Iranian government is under economic siege six months after US and Israeli forces struck Iran, murdering its supreme leader and maiming his son and heir. Despite this, the Iranian leadership remains in power and has showed little urgency to engage in negotiations.
Trump has chosen to concentrate on economic penalties in response to domestic political pressure over rising oil costs ahead of the November midterm elections, but doing so would necessitate taking action against Iranian trading partners like China and India. Sheik Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the prime minister of Qatar, called for a return to diplomacy during discussions with Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, in Tehran on Thursday, according to Qatar’s foreign ministry.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi remarked on his Telegram channel that Iran in response urged its neighbours to stop the United States from utilizing their territory to launch economic or military operations against Iran. Iranian media stated that Mohsen Rezaei, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, warned the prime minister of Qatar that if Washington participated in “mischief” against Iran, Tehran would attack US military and economic interests.
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