Qatar seeks to confirm its position towards Iran by exploiting current circumstances. The discrepancy in the news published by the two countries’ official agencies remains, indicating Doha’s unwillingness to publicly demonstrate its position on Iran in light of the international escalation against the republic.
As Asharq Al-Awsat writes, Qatar fears this escalation would affect it in case it expresses its position on Iran, especially after the re-imposition of US sanctions on Tehran, the Warsaw Conference, and the subsequent positions of the Gulf, Arab and Islamic states during the recent summits in Makkah. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani received Wednesday a phone call from Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who greeted him on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr.
However, the call wasn’t limited to that as a statement by the Iranian presidency said Rouhani reiterated during this call its support for Doha and for developing bilateral relations more than before. According to the presidency’s statement, Rouhani told Sheikh Tamim that Saudi Arabia and UAE’s stances on Yemen, Qatar, and Iran affect the whole region.
He also praised Qatar’s positions at Makkah summits, saying they are based “on the policy of good neighborliness and aimed at reducing tensions.” “Without a doubt, any summit that doesn’t bring regional countries closer together will be ineffective, counterproductive and even harmful,” he said.
The phone call came in line with Iranian escalation against the GCC as Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei slammed Bahrain on Wednesday for hosting the conference that will discuss the US Peace Plan (Deal of the Century).
Qatar’s two-year crisis with Gulf neighbors has dragged on due to its arrogance and intransigence, according to Bahraini Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmad Al Khalifa. “Two years of rejecting solutions, arrogance, intransigence, and alienation from [Gulf] brothers,” the Minister tweeted, accusing Qatar of ambivalence.
“It welcomes mediation while closes doors of success. It repeats the term dialogue and empties it of every sense,” he added, explaining that it doesn’t take into consideration Qatar people’s interest and their social and economic extensions with their Gulf environment.
