Qatar says mediation efforts underway to revive US-Iran talks

Qatar said Sunday that its mediation team has been discussing proposals for nearly two weeks aimed at restarting talks between the United States and Iran.

“We have been exchanging various ideas for nearly two weeks on resuming talks between Washington and Tehran,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari, according to Qatari media.

Qatar, alongside Pakistan, has been mediating between the two sides.

“We are working through our mediation team with Tehran and Washington to see whether talks can resume, and our mediators are currently moving between different capitals in the hope of making progress on this track,” al-Ansari said.

He added that Qatar had heard assurances from officials in the US administration that Washington wanted to reach an agreement.

Al-Ansari said there is a need for “a regional solution that achieves stability and an international understanding that protects waterways such as the Strait of Hormuz.”

“Subjecting waterways to the sovereignty of a single state and using them as a weapon will set a dangerous precedent for all of us,” he added.

The US has recently carried out military attacks on sites in Iran amid a deadlock in negotiations over disagreements concerning navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important routes for energy supplies and global trade, despite a memorandum of understanding signed by the two sides in mid-June.

Iran responded with attacks on what it said were US military facilities and equipment in Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia. Some of the attacks caused civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure, drawing condemnation from the affected countries and calls for them to stop.

The US and Israel launched a war against Iran on Feb. 28, leaving more than 3,000 people dead, according to Tehran. Iran responded with attacks that it said killed Americans and Israelis.

The remarks from Qatar came after the US State Department issued a security alert Sunday saying that “due to tensions in the Middle East, the security environment remains complex, with the potential for unforeseen escalation.”

It urged US citizens in the region to exercise caution and those outside it to reconsider travel to or through the area.

Several US embassies in the region, including those in the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Jordan, issued similar warnings Sunday.

Earlier in the day, detailing his approach to the war, US President Donald Trump told US network Fox News “my question is if and when do I blow the entire nation up? They had better behave.”

Trump described his current options as wiping the country out, allowing it to “rot” economically, or negotiating a deal, adding that “very big things are going to be happening in the not-so-distant future.”