Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke by phone on Tuesday. According to a statement by Qatar's Foreign Ministry, the two ministers discussed regional developments and efforts to reduce tensions.
During the call, Al Thani stressed that all parties must remain committed to dialogue and diplomacy. The Qatari minister said the memorandum of understanding signed between the United States and Iran in June must be implemented, particularly to ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
Al Thani also reiterated Qatar's full support for all efforts to reach a comprehensive agreement that would bring lasting peace to the region, saying they were working to reduce tensions.
The diplomatic contact came after a statement by US President Donald Trump on Sunday. Trump announced that Iran and other countries in the region had asked for time to finalize an agreement that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and bring an end to the nuclear threat.
In a statement made earlier on Friday, the US president said Washington would carry out very harsh attacks against Iran until it said it could not tolerate them. Washington had announced that it was postponing its plans to attack Iran at the request of several countries.
Iranian media reported on Sunday that reports claiming Washington and Tehran had reached an agreement on reopening the Strait of Hormuz were “not true.”
The United States and Israel launched an attack against Iran on February 28, and Tehran said more than 3,000 people had been killed in the attacks. Iran also announced that US and Israeli soldiers had been killed in retaliatory attacks.
Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding on June 18 and began negotiations toward a final agreement. However, disagreements emerged over ensuring freedom and security of navigation in the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
The United States carried out attacks against Iran between July 8 and 24, while Iran said it had attacked US military facilities and equipment in Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait in response.
