Qatar says mediation efforts intensifying to resolve Strait of Hormuz crisis

Doha: Qatar said on Tuesday that diplomatic efforts with its regional partners are intensifying to reach a swift solution to the Strait of Hormuz crisis, warning that leaving the issue unresolved would lead to further escalation.

Speaking at the foreign ministry’s weekly media briefing, ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said discussions remained underway with Qatar’s mediation partners, following a series of diplomatic visits and consultations in recent days.

Al Ansari said that there was no “tangible result” yet to announce but that further outcomes of the discussions and visits would be disclosed in the coming days, adding that diplomatic efforts over the past several days had centred on resolving the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, Xinhua News Agency reported.

He said that Qatar was working with its partners to ensure that the crisis ends through “a diplomatic resolution that guarantees that the strait is open.”

Such a solution should allow products from the region to reach global markets, guarantee regional security and address the aspirations of the region’s peoples for prosperity and security, Al Ansari added.

On Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei condemned the EU’s support for a US economic operation against Iran, saying that Europe could no longer claim “strategic autonomy.”

Baghaei made the remarks in a post on the social media platform X in response to an EU statement issued Monday at the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in Asheville, the United States.

The EU said it “welcomes efforts (aimed) at ensuring that Iran ceases its destabilising activities and engages in peace negotiations in good faith, also through additional economic pressure, including through the US-led Operation Economic Outcast.”

“Europe can no longer speak of ‘strategic autonomy’ while merely executing Washington’s orders,” Baghaei said.

The EU called for continued diplomacy with Iran to ensure regional stability and freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, adding that it remained ready to take further measures and maintain pressure on Tehran together with the United States and other partners.

On Aug. 19, US President Donald Trump announced what he called “the most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country,” warning that countries providing a lifeline to Iran would face “tremendous economic consequences.”
IANS