Qatar Opens ‘Communication Channel’ between US, Iran

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani receives Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi in Doha, Qatar. (Reuters)
Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani receives Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi in Doha, Qatar. (Reuters)
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Qatar Opens ‘Communication Channel’ between US, Iran

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani receives Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi in Doha, Qatar. (Reuters)
Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani receives Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi in Doha, Qatar. (Reuters)

Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani announced on Monday's his country's readiness to provide assistance to reach an "acceptable solution for all parties" to revive the nuclear agreement between Iran and major powers.

Sheikh Tamim held a meeting at the Emiri Diwan in Doha with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who is on an official visit to Doha to participate in the sixth summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF).

The Emir spoke of the "strong relations" between Doha and Tehran, wishing further development and growth in various fields.

Sheikh Tamim held a press conference with Raisi afterward, announcing that they discussed several regional and international issues of joint interest, namely the security and stability of the region.

In this regard, Sheikh Tamim reiterated that dialogue is the best way to resolve all differences and face the various challenges that the region is going through.

Raisi briefed Sheikh Tamim on the outcome of the Vienna negotiations regarding the nuclear agreement between Iran and the West and its impact on the security and stability of the region.

He said that the US must prove that it will lift sanctions imposed on Tehran during the ongoing indirect talks to salvage the nuclear agreement.

He stressed that his country is looking forward to qualitative development and opening new horizons with Qatar, neighboring Gulf countries, and the region, and to boosting cooperation.

Raisi expressed his aspiration to develop Qatari-Iranian relations to benefit the two countries and their peoples.

Qatar added the Iran nuclear dispute to its list of diplomatic hotspots where it has taken a mediation role between Washington and Tehran.

Earlier this month, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani went on an unannounced visit to Tehran shortly after Sheikh Tamim met US President Joe Biden in Washington.

Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported that Qatar's unannounced visit to Iran included talks with Raisi and Iran's foreign minister.

On Monday, Sheikh Tamim and Raisi signed several bilateral agreements, including two energy deals, Further details were not immediately available.

Raisi is the first Iranian President to visit Doha in 11 years. It is his third overseas trip since becoming president in 2021.

Iran is among the world's three largest gas exporters, along with Russia and Qatar, Raisi highlighted.

He is accompanied during his visit by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Oil and Cultural Heritage, and the Chief of the Presidential Office.



UK and France Must End Dependency on US and China, Macron Warns

France's President Emmanuel Macron, Britain's King Charles III, Britain's Queen Camilla and Brigitte Macron stand during a ceremonial welcome at Windsor Castle, in Windsor west of London, on July 8, 2025, on the first day of a three-day state visit to Britain. LUDOVIC MARIN/Pool via REUTERS
France's President Emmanuel Macron, Britain's King Charles III, Britain's Queen Camilla and Brigitte Macron stand during a ceremonial welcome at Windsor Castle, in Windsor west of London, on July 8, 2025, on the first day of a three-day state visit to Britain. LUDOVIC MARIN/Pool via REUTERS
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UK and France Must End Dependency on US and China, Macron Warns

France's President Emmanuel Macron, Britain's King Charles III, Britain's Queen Camilla and Brigitte Macron stand during a ceremonial welcome at Windsor Castle, in Windsor west of London, on July 8, 2025, on the first day of a three-day state visit to Britain. LUDOVIC MARIN/Pool via REUTERS
France's President Emmanuel Macron, Britain's King Charles III, Britain's Queen Camilla and Brigitte Macron stand during a ceremonial welcome at Windsor Castle, in Windsor west of London, on July 8, 2025, on the first day of a three-day state visit to Britain. LUDOVIC MARIN/Pool via REUTERS

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday Britain and France must work together to counter the world's many destabilizing threats and protect Europe from "excessive dependencies" on the United States and China. 

Macron, in a rare address to both houses of the British parliament, celebrated the return of closer ties between the two countries as he became the first European leader to be invited for a British state visit since Brexit. 

Having been greeted earlier by the British royal family, Macron set out to parliament where he said the two countries needed to come together to strengthen Europe, including on defense, immigration, climate, and trade. 

"The United Kingdom and France must once again show the world that our alliance can make all the difference," he said. 

"The only way to overcome the challenges we have, the challenges of our times, will be to go together hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder." 

Listing the geopolitical threats the countries face, Macron argued they should also be wary of the "excessive dependencies of both the US and China," saying they needed to "de-risk our economies and our societies from this dual dependency." 

But he also set out the opportunities of a closer union, saying they should make it easier for students, researchers and artists to live in each other's countries, and seek to work together on artificial intelligence and protect children online. 

The speech symbolized the improvement in relations sought by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's center-left Labor Party, as part of a broader reset of ties with European allies following the rancor over Britain's departure from the European Union. 

'ENTENTE AMICALE' 

Macron, who enjoys a strong personal relationship with King Charles, was earlier greeted by the royal family, including heir-to-the-throne Prince William and his wife Princess Catherine, before they travelled in horse-drawn carriages to Windsor Castle. 

Charles used his speech at the evening's opulent state banquet to christen a new era of friendly relations, upgrading the "entente cordiale" - an alliance dating from 1904 that ended centuries of military rivalries - to an "entente amicale." 

"As we dine here in this ancient place, redolent with our shared history, allow me to propose a toast to France and to our new entente. An entente not only past and present, but for the future - and no longer just cordiale, but now amicale," he said. 

The 76-year-old monarch, who is undergoing treatment for cancer, had a noticeably red right eye. A Buckingham Palace source said he had suffered a burst blood vessel that was unrelated to any other health condition.  

Britain and France marked the three-day visit with an announcement that French nuclear energy utility EDF would invest £1.1 billion ($1.5 billion) in a nuclear power project in eastern England. 

The two also said France would lend Britain the Bayeux Tapestry, allowing the 11th-century masterpiece to return for the first time in more than 900 years, in exchange for Britain loaning France Anglo-Saxon and Viking treasures. 

The state visit comes 16 years after the late Queen Elizabeth hosted then-French president Nicolas Sarkozy. Despite tensions over post-Brexit ties and how to stop asylum seekers from crossing the Channel in small boats, Britain and France have been working closely to create a planned military force to support Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire with Russia. 

Starmer is hoping that will help persuade Macron to take a different approach to stopping people smuggling, with London wanting to try out an asylum seekers' returns deal. This would involve Britain deporting one asylum seeker to France in exchange for another with a legitimate case to be in Britain.  

A record number of asylum seekers have arrived in Britain on small boats in the first six months of this year. Starmer, whose party is trailing Nigel Farage's right-wing Reform UK party in the polls, is under pressure to find a solution. 

France has previously refused to sign such an agreement, saying Britain should negotiate an arrangement with all EU countries.