War in Iran: Despite Iranian attacks, Doha steps up mediation efforts
Key takeaways
- Qatar is intensifying regional mediation efforts despite the Iran war bringing airstrikes and cutting off Doha's access to global oil markets.
- https://p.dw.com/p/5Ddpn Qatari officials welcome Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Doha in April.
- While the Qatari prime minister has repeatedly said Doha fully supports Pakistan's leading mediation role, this appears to show the Gulf state is increasingly expanding its own diplomatic outreach.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
Qatar is intensifying regional mediation efforts despite the Iran war bringing airstrikes and cutting off Doha's access to global oil markets. But can Qatar leverage its ties to the US and Iran for its own benefit?
https://p.dw.com/p/5Ddpn Qatari officials welcome Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Doha in April. Both Pakistan and Qatar are leading diplomatic efforts to bring an end to the war between the US and Iran Image: Qatar News Agency/Handout/REUTERSAdvertisement In Qatar's capital Doha, mediation efforts between the United States and Iran have been running at a clip. In recent days, Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani has held calls with officials in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Turkey, Kuwait and others to discuss "regional tensions" and "efforts aimed at de-escalation in the region."
Last week and during the weekend, Al Thani also met US Vice President JD Vance, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House envoy Steve Witkoff as part of efforts to permanently end the war with Iran, according to the news outlet Axios.