Qatar calls on Gulf nations to engage in diplomacy with Iran

Doha is ‘hopeful’ that new talks between Tehran and Gulf Arab states will take place.

Qatar is urging Gulf nations to enter into a dialogue with Iran and has offered to broker negotiations after a three-year blockade on Doha was recently removed by its Arab neighbours. Qatar, which shares a major gas field with Iran, has for years called on Gulf Arab states to enter talks with Iran, which they accuse of fomenting unrest in the Middle East, accusations Tehran denies. Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told Bloomberg TV in an interview broadcast on Monday that his government is “hopeful that this would happen”.