Qatar PM calls for Gulf security framework with Iran, says war must be ‘wake-up call’

Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, has called for a new regional security framework that brings Gulf states and Iran together, warning that the region cannot go back to how it was before the US-Israeli war on Iran.

“Iran is our neighbour,” Sheikh Al Thani told the Qatar Economic Forum in New York on Sunday. “We have to act together responsibly as a region and to make sure that we are having good relations with Iran.” He said the region could not return to how things were before the war unless Gulf states and Iran agreed a security framework ensuring that none of them posed a threat to the others. “We are hoping this war is a wake-up call for everyone,” he added.

Read: Qatari, Iranian defense officials discuss regional security developments

The Qatari premier was speaking on the sidelines of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly. His remarks came hours after reports that Washington was preparing to resume direct attacks on Iran. US President Donald Trump cut short a weekend stay at Camp David without explanation, and the State Department issued a new security alert to all US citizens in the Middle East.

The US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on 28 February, saying they aimed to bring about regime change and target the country’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. Iran responded with counter-strikes on Israel, US bases in the region and military and civilian sites in Arab states, many of which host US forces.

A conditional ceasefire was declared on 8 April. In June, the US and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding brokered by Pakistan and Qatar, but its implementation has stalled over disputes about navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

Read: Qatar urges Gulf coordination to implement US-Iran memorandum of understanding

Qatar has paid a heavy price. Its Ras Laffan complex, the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility, was shut down in the first week of the war after an Iranian attack. The facility has two production trains that are expected to take years to restore. This month Doha extended force majeure on LNG shipments to early November because of the continued blockade of the strait.

Speaking at the same forum, Qatari Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi dismissed US claims that new pipeline investments could make the Strait of Hormuz irrelevant within two years. “I think this is completely wrong,” he said, adding that Qatar had decided against building pipelines and would rely solely on the strait.

Sheikh Mohammed Al Thani’s remarks echo growing calls across the Gulf for a regional settlement. Earlier on Sunday, Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, said the region needed a “new mindset”. He called for any negotiations to end the war to include an “Iranian-Arab” element.

Doha has stepped up its diplomacy with Tehran in recent months. Last month Mohammed Al Thani made his first visit to Iran since the war began, pledging to help ease the hardships facing Iranians. “Qatar does not want the Iranian people to face difficulties while the countries of the region merely watch,” he told Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported. In August, he also urged his Gulf counterparts to coordinate on implementing the US-Iran memorandum. Qatar’s defence minister has held security talks with his Iranian counterpart.