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Qatar, Iran Discuss Bilateral Ties, Regional Developments

Meeting between the Iranian President and Qatari Foreign Minister in Tehran on Thursday, January 27, 2022. (Iranian presidency)
Meeting between the Iranian President and Qatari Foreign Minister in Tehran on Thursday, January 27, 2022. (Iranian presidency)
    London, Tehran - Asharq Al-Awsat
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Qatar, Iran Discuss Bilateral Ties, Regional Developments

Meeting between the Iranian President and Qatari Foreign Minister in Tehran on Thursday, January 27, 2022. (Iranian presidency)
Meeting between the Iranian President and Qatari Foreign Minister in Tehran on Thursday, January 27, 2022. (Iranian presidency)

Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani held talks on Thursday with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian in Tehran, ahead of talks with President Ebrahim Raisi.

Discussions tackled bilateral ties and political developments in the region.

Amirabdollahian met with Qatar’s ruling emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and Sheikh Mohammed during his visit to Doha on Jan. 11.

On Tuesday, Al Thani held talks with Iran’s FM over the phone, Iranian Ambassador to Qatar Hamid Reza Dehghani announced on Twitter.

According to a Foreign Ministry statement, the ministers discussed bilateral and regional issues, including Afghanistan and Yemen, without referring to the nuclear talks.

Al Thani said in a tweet that he he met with his Iranian counterpart and held fruitful discussions on the latest regional developments.

“I emphasize the constants of Qatar’s foreign policy, based on good neighborliness and constructive dialogue, to foster political dialogue aimed at achieving sustainable regional stability,” he added.

Raisi underscored the importance of “deepening ties between regional countries” in a meeting with Sheikh Mohammed, who invited the president to attend Gas Exporting Countries Forum summit in February in Doha.

Al Thani’s visit comes after Amirabdollahian on Monday said Tehran is ready to consider direct talks with Washington if it feels it can get a “good nuclear deal.”

However, Iran’s state news agency IRNA said the visit was not intended to help set up direct talks with Washington.

“Although Doha and Tehran are experiencing good and close relations, this visit ... has fueled some misconceptions. Some are fabricating it to facilitate direct talks with the United States,” IRNA said, Reuters reported.

The US and Iran have held eight rounds of indirect talks in Vienna since April aimed at reinstating the 2015 pact that lifted sanctions against Tehran in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear program.

After then-US President Donald Trump quit the nuclear deal in 2018 and reimposed harsh sanctions, Iran gradually started violating the pact’s nuclear curbs.

Significant gaps remain about the speed and scope of returning to the deal, including Iran’s demand for a US guarantee of no further punitive steps, and how and when to restore curbs on Iran’s atomic work.

Sheikh Tamim will hold talks with US President Joe Biden on Jan. 31 including on efforts to salvage the pact.

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Deadly Türkiye Hotel Fire Sparks Safety Concerns, Political Blame Game

A fire truck is seen in front of a hotel, following a deadly fire, in the ski resort of Kartalkaya, in Bolu, Turkey, January 21, 2025. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo
A fire truck is seen in front of a hotel, following a deadly fire, in the ski resort of Kartalkaya, in Bolu, Turkey, January 21, 2025. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo
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Deadly Türkiye Hotel Fire Sparks Safety Concerns, Political Blame Game

A fire truck is seen in front of a hotel, following a deadly fire, in the ski resort of Kartalkaya, in Bolu, Turkey, January 21, 2025. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo
A fire truck is seen in front of a hotel, following a deadly fire, in the ski resort of Kartalkaya, in Bolu, Turkey, January 21, 2025. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo

Outrage over alleged safety failures at a 12-storey hotel in Türkiye has escalated into a political clash between the government and the opposition-run local authorities, after a fire killed 79 people and injured more than 50, Reuters reported.

The tragedy sparked calls for accountability and reform, and independent experts have said the Grand Kartal Hotel, at the Kartalkaya ski resort in western Türkiye, lacked basic fire safety measures.

Survivors described chaos as they navigated smoke-filled corridors in darkness. Some said there were no alarms, sprinkler systems or visible fire escapes. Some were forced to leap from windows to escape and several died that way.

Authorities detained 11 people, including the hotel's owner, manager, a deputy mayor of Bolu province, and the head of the local fire department as part of a probe. The hotel's management pledged full cooperation and President Tayyip Erdogan vowed accountability.

Bolu's opposition-run municipality and the national tourism ministry blamed each other for a lack of fire safety measures, with each arguing it was the other's responsibility.

"All these people would not have died if the deficiencies we mentioned in (the fire) inspection had been addressed," Tanju Ozcan, mayor of the nearby Bolu municipality, told broadcaster Halk TV.

Ozcan said the hotel's owners had applied for a fire safety permit in December but withdrew the application after failing to meet eight out of nine required criteria. Instead the hotel, he said, got a substitute safety report from a private auditing company, which is allowed by law.

Ozcan added that due to the ministry's jurisdiction, the municipality could not take further action.

"While the municipality was waiting for the deficiencies to be corrected, the hotel withdrew the request because they did not want to meet these costs and applied to another company. Authorization was given to a company authorized by the ministry," the mayor said.

Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said the property was inspected in 2021 and 2024 with no safety issues flagged. He said the fire department was responsible for regular inspections and certifications and added that no issues had been reported to date.

Ozcan said his municipality had no jurisdiction over the hotel, which lies outside city boundaries and in a designated tourism area. The municipality's last fire safety certification was dated 2007 and subsequent inspections were the ministry's responsibility, he said.

The tourism ministry said the hotel held a valid fire competence certificate.

The blaze erupted in the early hours of Tuesday at the hotel packed with 238 guests, including families on winter holiday, at the mountaintop facility.

Erol Percin, Bolu representative of the Chamber of Mechanical Engineers, called for reform in safety regulations and criticised what he called vague language in current laws.

"Our legislation does not refer to these norms. It is only vaguely stated that 'guest and employee safety must be ensured,'" he said, urging stricter rules.