Doha, Qatar: Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani has said indirect talks between the United States and Iran held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly have made “some positive progress”, expressing hope that diplomacy can ultimately resolve the conflict.
In an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour aired on Friday, the Prime Minister said Qatar had been working for weeks to bring US-Iran diplomacy back on track after the two sides’ memorandum of understanding fell short.
“We’ve been in the past few weeks trying our best … to bring diplomacy back into track. Yesterday, we had the indirect talks between the two parties, and I believe there were some positive progress in these talks,” he said.
“We have sensed that from both parties that they want to see some positive progress,” he added, while stressing that details could not yet be disclosed.
“In these kind of situations, normally it’s better to stay away from the public eyes until it gets mature. But we are really hopeful that diplomacy can prevail at the end and we can find a solution,” Sheikh Mohammed said.
On pressure arising from the conflict and the US blockade, H E Sheikh Mohammed said the impact was being felt far beyond Iran. “I think the entire world is under pressure, including Iran,” he said, adding that Gulf countries were also affected because restrictions on navigation were making it difficult for Qatar to move ships.
He described the insecurity in the Strait of Hormuz as “unacceptable”, saying the waterway had always been an international waterway and that the issue had become a global problem.
“The world needs to come together to address this issue,” he said, adding that Qatar rejected “any blockade or any blackmailing by any country or any party”.
Asked how the war could ultimately be ended, the Prime Minister said an agreement remained the only viable path. “We didn’t want this to happen. We didn’t want this to start in the first place,” he said, adding that Qatar had pursued diplomatic avenues between Washington and Tehran.
“There will never be a military victory,” he said, arguing that the conflict was not ultimately about which side possessed greater military power.
“Because at the end of the day, the ones who are losing are the people of those countries,” he said, warning that the consequences of further escalation would extend beyond the region and affect the global economy.
“We prefer that diplomacy is the only way forward for this,” he said.
In reply to a question on the impact this conflict has had on Qatar specifically, the Prime Minister said Qatar had been “affected significantly” by the war and stressed that the government had been transparent about the damage caused to the country. He pointed to damage affecting Al Udeid Air Base and Qatar’s LNG facilities, saying transparency was important for Qatar’s people, partners and friends to understand the impact of the conflict.
Despite the security challenges, he said Qatar’s development model would continue to focus on prosperity, partnerships and connectivity. “The whole model of the Gulf countries is built on prosperity and forward-looking, opening partnerships, connectivity hub, and this will remain our model,” he said. Asked whether Qatar’s defence relationship with the United States had been strained by the conflict, H E Sheikh Mohammed said Qatar’s defence policy was based first on developing its own capabilities.
“Our defense arrangement that we have in our country is based on building our own capacity and our own capability,” he said, adding that Qatar’s armed forces had demonstrated their capabilities during the war. At the same time, he described the US relationship as highly valuable. “It is one of the most, or even it is the most valuable defense partnership that we have,” he said. He described the current circumstances as exceptional and said Qatar was examining ways to strengthen the partnership and “make sure that this bond is solidified.”
In reply to questions related to Gaza, H E Sheikh Mohammed accused Israel of failing to fulfil its commitments under the Sharm El-Sheikh agreement. He said Israel had not withdrawn as required and alleged that continued military operations and restrictions on humanitarian assistance were undermining the ceasefire.
He said humanitarian assistance was supposed to reach Gaza at an average of at least 600 trucks a day, while the average had been around 150.
The Prime Minister also rejected allegations that Qatari financial assistance to Gaza had funded Hamas’s military wing, calling the accusations “baseless”. He said Qatari assistance had been provided with the coordination and consent of the United Nations and Israeli authorities and was directed towards three areas: purchasing gas from Israel for Gaza’s power plants, supporting approved families living below the poverty line, and paying salaries of approved civilian government employees.
“There has no single penny that has flown into Gaza without the full coordination and consent by the United Nation and the Israeli government,” he said. On allegations surrounding “Qatar Gate” and claims that Qatar had sought to influence Israeli politics, H E Sheikh Mohammed dismissed them as “absurd” and accused successive Israeli governments of using Qatar as a scapegoat.
He said Qatar had repeatedly worked to advance ceasefire and hostage-release efforts and maintained that its role had been focused on resolving conflicts. “Qatar has been unfortunately maybe at the center of the campaign of anyone who wants to see chaos in the region,” he said, arguing that Qatar had consistently sought to de-escalate conflicts and “clean up this chaos”.
