Qatar says efforts under way to end Iran-US war and reopen Strait of Hormuz

After a recent flare-up in fighting between the US and Iran, qatar is holding discussions with Oman and Pakistan to de-escalate tensions in the region, the country's Foreign Ministry has stated.

Key points

• Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani visited Tehran last week to encourage dialogue to end the crisis.
• While the US and Iran battle over the waterway, Israel has continued to bomb and occupy Gaza, Syria and Lebanon.
• Recent weeks have additionally seen a spike in pogroms by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, with Palestinian homes and villages besieged.
• While Iran has been accused of laying mines and attacking tankers in the waterway, the US has enforced a blockade on Iranian ports.
• During his visit confirmed Qatar's consistent position in support of diplomatic efforts to find a solution to this crisis.

Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari cautioned on Tuesday against normalising the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, where the war between Iran and the US has seen shipping in the waterway grind almost to a halt.

"We said from the start, any attempt to normalise the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in this way will end with regional escalation, and this is what we saw yesterday and today, " Al-Ansari remarked in the press conference.

"Escalation does not benefit anyone, and we are all negatively impacted by the escalation. We encourage all sides to be wise and return to negotiations."

Around 25 percent of the world's seaborne trade passed through the strait before Israel and the US introduced a war on Iran on February 28, reducing traffic in the waterway to a trickle.

While Iran has been accused of laying mines and attacking tankers in the waterway, the US has enforced a blockade on Iranian ports. Energy rates have since skyrocketed, affecting economies throughout the world.

Iran and Oman have held discussions on opening a temporary route through the Strait of Hormuz, but Tehran wants the US to first return to a memorandum of understanding agreed in June.

Qatar, which has been economically impacted by the war, has encouraged a peaceful resolution to the crisis and is in contact with regional leaders to encourage dialogue, Al-Ansari remarked.

"The visits. Are all to support mediation efforts, and attempting to return to the negotiation path, and guaranteeing no return to escalation in the region, " Al-Ansari remarked concerning the visit.

"During his visit confirmed Qatar's consistent position in support of diplomatic efforts to find a solution to this crisis. Efforts are ongoing."

Al-Ansari accused Israel of using the war on Iran "to impose a new reality in Palestinian, Lebanese and Syrian territories" and accused it of beginning a new regional escalation.

In short, qatar says efforts under way to end Iran-US war and reopen Strait is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.