Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani is set to visit Tehran on Thursday as Doha steps up efforts to revive diplomacy between Iran and the United States amid growing tensions over Washington’s plans to tighten economic pressure on Tehran.
Qatar, which maintains close ties with both Iran and the US, has acted as a back-channel mediator between the two sides. Doha also played a direct role in helping secure a ceasefire in June that temporarily brought an end to hostilities.
The visit comes as the conflict approaches its sixth month. Although fighting has largely subsided, a major diplomatic breakthrough remains elusive, with control of the strategically important Strait of Hormuz continuing to be a major point of contention.
An unidentified projectile struck a tanker in the strait early Thursday, sparking a fire that was later extinguished, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency. All crew members were reported safe and accounted for.
The Strait of Hormuz, located between Iran and Oman, is a crucial route for global energy supplies. Before the conflict began on Feb 28, around 20 million barrels of crude oil passed through the waterway each day.
However, oil flows through the strait have since fallen sharply. The latest ship-tracking data showed only around five million barrels per day transiting the waterway on Monday, marking a three-month low.
The breakdown of a memorandum of understanding between Iran and the US was partly linked to disagreements over the strait. Tehran has sought greater control over the waterway and proposed charging ships a commission, a move opposed by Washington.
Iranian and Omani officials have been holding discussions for weeks over arrangements for controlling traffic through the strait and sharing related revenues.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday that Tehran and Muscat had reached an agreement on the management of the waterway and its revenues. However, a senior Iranian source later told Reuters that an agreement had yet to be finalised, with negotiations continuing over its details.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said Sheikh Mohammed would discuss continued mediation efforts during his Tehran visit, as well as freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and the restoration of conditions that existed before Feb 28.
He is also expected to discuss ways to reduce tensions and create conditions that could pave the way for renewed dialogue.
Iran has maintained control over the strait as a key source of leverage despite suffering significant losses to its conventional military capabilities following earlier aerial bombardment. Tehran still retains missile and drone capabilities that could threaten Gulf states hosting US military bases and disrupt tanker traffic.
The International Maritime Organization has recorded 70 incidents in the Strait of Hormuz since Feb 28, resulting in the deaths of 19 seafarers.
Meanwhile, Washington has increasingly turned towards economic pressure, announcing plans to impose further sanctions targeting Iran’s trading partners.
Iran has said the strait will remain closed unless the US meets conditions set under the interim ceasefire agreement reached in June. These include ending the US blockade of Iranian ports, providing compensation and removing sanctions.
The conflicting positions underscore the difficult task facing Qatar as it attempts to bring Tehran and Washington back to the negotiating table, while keeping tensions around one of the world’s most important oil shipping routes from escalating further.
