Iran’s FM in Qatar for talks

Emir of Qatar Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani yesterday received Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Doha.

The two officials discussed bilateral and regional developments, Qatar’s official news agency reported, without giving more details.

Zarif’s visit to Doha comes amid an apparent thaw in relations between Iran and the Gulf States.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif [File photo]

Last month, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani tried to set off on a tour of the Gulf Arab states, but was only received by Oman and Kuwait.

Mounting tensions

In the past, members of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have frequently accused Iran of meddling in their domestic affairs – claims denied by Tehran.

Tension had mounted between the Gulf and Iran after Riyadh severed diplomatic ties with Tehran early last year.

The move came after two Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran were attacked by protesters following the execution of a prominent Shia cleric by the Saudi authorities.

Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies also accuse Tehran of supporting Yemen’s Shia Houthi militia group, which overran the Yemeni capital Sana’a and other parts of the country in 2014.

The ongoing conflict in Syria, meanwhile, in which the Gulf States and Iran support opposing sides, had contributed to the deterioration of Gulf-Iran ties.