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.
