US, Qatari Foreign Ministers discuss countering Iran

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met Wednesday with Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani and discussed ways to counter Iran’s “malign influence,” according to the State Department, Anadolu reports.

The top diplomats also addressed other regional issues that covered Afghanistan, Libya and Sudan, spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement.

“The Secretary thanked the foreign minister for his continued efforts to build upon the robust US-Qatar partnership, including follow-through on Qatar’s commitments to fair competition in civil aviation,” she added.

The meeting came amid a continued push by the US to ramp up pressure on Tehran in conjunction with Washington’s Sunni Arab Gulf allies and Israel.

The Trump administration earlier this week decided to stop granting waivers to seven countries and Taiwan to import Iranian oil — the latest effort to scuttle a 2015 nuclear pact with world powers, including the US, brokered with Iran.

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