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Qatar ready to mediate between Iran, US, official says

January 26, 2021 at 1:47 pm

A view from Tehran’s street as a citizen reading the news regarding the U.S. elections in newspapers, on November 09, 2020 in Tehran, Iran [Fatemeh Bahrami – Anadolu Agency]

Qatar has reiterated its readiness to mediate between Iran and the United States days after newly elected President Joe Biden took office.

“Qatar is ready to mediate between Iran and the United States as the new US President, Joe Biden, assumes office after the turbulent years of the Trump administrations,” Lolwah Al-Khater, spokeswoman for Qatar’s Foreign Ministry, told to Spanish EFE news agency.

She stated that Iran and the Gulf’s Arab states are both geographical realities in the region and that’s why they need to start direct dialogue.

Al-Khater also pointed to Qatar’s trade ties with Iran and Turkey during the GCC crisis, saying that these ties helped Qatar achieve a GDP growth more than that of its neighbours.

READ: Qatar beats Egypt to lead negotiations with Iran

Last week, the Iranian Foreign Minister, Muhammad Javad Zarif, welcomed the Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani’s invitation for a comprehensive dialogue between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and Tehran.

In 2018, Trump led a campaign of “maximum pressure” against Iran, pulling Washington out of a landmark nuclear deal with Tehran and reimposing punishing sanctions.

The sanctions targeted Iran’s vital oil sales and international banking ties, plunging its economy into a deep recession.

Last Wednesday, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani called out the departure of “tyrant” US counterpart Donald Trump, who was due to leave office later in the day making way for Biden.

A “tyrant’s era came to an end and today is the final day of his ominous reign,” Rouhani said in televised remarks to his cabinet.