DOHA (Washington Insider Magazine) – According to people acquainted with the situation, Qatar’s Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani is likely to go to Tehran on Thursday to address regional concerns with top Iranian officials.
The trip follows a phone conversation between Al Thani, who is also Qatar’s deputy prime minister, and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian on Tuesday.
The two ambassadors assessed bilateral ties and discussed measures to improve them in many spheres, according to Qatar’s official news agency QNA. According to QNA, they also addressed recent regional developments and topics of mutual concern.
Amirabdollahian was in Doha, Qatar’s capital, earlier this month for high-level discussions with the Qatari FM and Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
They addressed the latest advances in Vienna at the moment, where talks are underway to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers by eliminating US sanctions and curtailing Iran’s nuclear program, reported Al Jazeera.
Qatar has long lobbied for a resumption of the nuclear accord in order to de-escalate conflicts in the region.
Late November saw the start of talks in Vienna to repair the accord, also referred to as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The United States, which withdrew from the agreement unilaterally in 2018 under former President Donald Trump, is now negotiating informally.
Despite earlier ruling out formal meetings with US officials, Iran’s Amirabdollahian has indicated that if conversations progress, Iran is open to participate in direct talks with Washington.
The impending visit coincides with the emergence of a new trench in Yemen’s long-running conflict. Iran-aligned Houthi militants have fired multiple missiles at the United Arab Emirates in recent weeks. The United Arab Emirates is a part of a Saudi-led military alliance that supports Yemen’s government.
The battle has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people, displaced millions, and generated the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis, according to the United Nations.
However, it’s uncertain whether these topics will be on the agenda for the future conference.
