Iran, Qatar Link 'Regional Dialogue' to Nuclear Deal

A handout photo made available by the Iranian supreme leader office shows, Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei (L) talking to Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani (C), as Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi (R) looks on, during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, 12 May 2022. (EPA)
A handout photo made available by the Iranian supreme leader office shows, Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei (L) talking to Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani (C), as Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi (R) looks on, during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, 12 May 2022. (EPA)
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Iran, Qatar Link 'Regional Dialogue' to Nuclear Deal

A handout photo made available by the Iranian supreme leader office shows, Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei (L) talking to Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani (C), as Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi (R) looks on, during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, 12 May 2022. (EPA)
A handout photo made available by the Iranian supreme leader office shows, Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei (L) talking to Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani (C), as Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi (R) looks on, during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, 12 May 2022. (EPA)

Qatar and Iran have stressed their determination to resolve differences in the region through dialogue. The two countries also underlined the importance of reaching an agreement in the nuclear negotiations between the international community and Tehran.

The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, held talks on Thursday with his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran, before he met with the Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Qatar’s Emiri Diwan said Sheikh Tamim and Raisi discussed political, economic and commercial relations, in addition to boosting prospects for bilateral cooperation in the sectors of tourism, investment, transport and communications.

The talks also touched on a number of regional and international files, especially the latest developments in the region.

Khamenei’s official website quoted the senior cleric as saying that the region’s problems “will be resolved through dialogue without the interference of foreign parties.”

He added that the “strength and stability of the Iranian-Qatari ties are in the interest of the two countries,” but noted that bilateral economic relations were very modest and must be doubled.

On the political level, Khamenei pointed to the presence of a “basis for exchanging views,” expressing his hope that the visit of the Emir of Qatar would constitute a “new starting point for strengthening cooperation.”

For his part, Raisi said Iran was convinced that regional files could be resolved without foreign and western interference.

“The visit of the Emir of Qatar will be a turning point in the level of relations between our two countries,” he stated.

Commenting on the nuclear talks in Vienna, Sheikh Tamim said: “We look positively at the Vienna negotiations and see that the only solution to any dispute lies through dialogue and peaceful means.”

“We are pushing forward, God willing, all parties,” with the aim of reaching an understanding that is “fair to all,” he added.

While Iranian media portrayed the meeting as evidence of Iran’s expansion of its relations with countries in the region, a source told Reuters on Sunday that the emir’s visit aims to bring the parties to the Iranian nuclear agreement to a common ground.

Citing a source, Reuters reported that Sheikh Tamim will visit Iran before traveling to Germany, Britain and other European states to discuss efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear deal.

The source added the emir’s trip aimed at bringing parties to the Iran nuclear agreement to a “new middle ground.”

In turn, Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani stressed support for reaching an agreement on the outstanding issues in the Iranian nuclear negotiations.

The Qatari foreign minister stressed that the Emir of Qatar’s talks in Tehran “focused on establishing stability in the region and engaging into a regional dialogue.”

Talks in Vienna reached an impasse over Tehran’s insistence that Washington remove the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps from the US Foreign Terrorist Organization list.

In Europe and Britain, Sheikh Tamim will discuss energy security, as Qatar and Iran possess respectively the first and second largest natural gas reserves in the world.



South Korean Opposition Leader Lee Opens Presidential Bid Following Yoon's Ouster

People watch a TV screen showing former South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung announces his presidential bid via a video message at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
People watch a TV screen showing former South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung announces his presidential bid via a video message at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
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South Korean Opposition Leader Lee Opens Presidential Bid Following Yoon's Ouster

People watch a TV screen showing former South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung announces his presidential bid via a video message at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
People watch a TV screen showing former South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung announces his presidential bid via a video message at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, widely seen as the front-runner in a presidential by-election triggered by the removal of Yoon Suk Yeol last week, announced his presidential bid Thursday, vowing to heal a starkly divided nation through economic growth.

Lee, who narrowly lost the 2022 election to Yoon, led the liberal Democratic Party’s campaign to oust the former president over his December declaration of martial law.

Lee recently stepped down as the party’s chairman to focus on campaigning for the June 3 election. He is considered the clear front-runner in party's primary. Kim Dong-yeon, the Democratic governor of Gyeonggi province and a longtime financial policymaker, also told reporters Wednesday that he intends to run for president.

Yoon’s downfall has left the conservative People Power Party in disarray, with roughly 10 politicians expected to seek the nomination, reflecting a split between Yoon loyalists, who still control the party’s leadership, and reformists calling for a fresh start.

In a video message, Lee said that Yoon’s martial law saga exposed the country’s deep divisions and social conflicts, and argued that the root cause was a widening rich-poor gap. He promised aggressive government spending to jolt economic growth and ease income polarization.

“We have more than we did in the past, but wealth is too concentrated in certain areas,” Lee said. “With economic growth rates declining worldwide, it has become difficult to maintain and develop an economy solely on the strength of the private sector. However, with government-led talent development and extensive investments in technological research and development, we can revive the economy.”

Lee said it was crucial to maintain a robust alliance with the United States and to pursue three-way cooperation with Japan, but he stressed that South Korea’s national interest should come first in “every decision.”

Lee, who has served as a lawmaker, provincial governor and city mayor, is adored by supporters for his outspoken style and has long positioned himself as an anti-elitist. His critics view him as a populist who stokes division and demonizes conservative opponents while failing to offer realistic funding plans to achieve his ambitious goals.

Kweon Seong-dong, PPP floor leader and a staunch Yoon loyalist, said that if Lee becomes president, he will “ruthlessly wield the sword of dogmatism and retribution” and further deepen the country’s divisions.

Lee also has his own set of legal troubles, facing five different trials for corruption and other criminal charges.

Earlier this month, the Constitutional Court upheld Yoon’s impeachment by the legislature and formally removed him from office over the martial law decree, triggering a presidential by-election within 60 days. The next president will serve a full 5-year term.

Former PPP leader Han Dong-hoon, head of the party’s anti-Yoon faction, announced his presidential bid Thursday, positioning himself as a conservative who opposed martial law and appealing to centrist voters to stop the inauguration of a populist “monster government” led by Lee. Among the conservatives’ presidential hopefuls, former Labor Minister Kim Moon Soo is considered to be the most pro-Yoon.

Kim, Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo and senior PPP lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo — a former computer software entrepreneur who finished third in the 2017 presidential vote — have declared their intentions to run for president. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is expected to enter the race later.