Qatar's prime minister held a series of meetings in Tehran on August 27 focused on the Strait of Hormuz and efforts to create conditions for renewed dialogue over the regional war. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani met Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi before talks with President Masoud Pezeshkian, parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and security chief Mohsen Rezai.
Qatar's Foreign Ministry said Sheikh Mohammed and Araghchi discussed a proposed temporary shipping corridor through Hormuz and a possible joint project to remove mines from the waterway. They also reviewed attempts to reduce escalation and establish conditions for talks. Iran says mines in the strait were laid during the war.
Sheikh Mohammed, who also serves as Qatar's foreign minister, said diplomatic solutions remained the preferred way to settle disputes. He linked the Tehran visit to efforts to lower tensions and open space for peaceful outcomes, while stressing that navigation through Hormuz should comply with international law.
Iranian officials paired their support for diplomacy with firm conditions. State media reported that Rezai told the Qatari leader the United States must take practical steps to meet Iran's demands before Tehran reopens the strait. He also warned that Iran would target US military and economic interests if Washington initiated further action. Ghalibaf, meanwhile, emphasised de-escalation and discussed circumstances for resuming dialogue.
The visit followed intensive mediation involving Oman and Pakistan. Iran and Oman have been negotiating a framework for shipping routes, and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the countries had agreed on their respective shares of the waterway and any revenue from its management. No final navigation agreement had been reached. Tehran has demanded that Washington lift its naval blockade, release frozen Iranian assets and remove oil sanctions.
The conflict began when the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28. Iran subsequently tightened control over Hormuz, required ships to seek permission for passage and attacked vessels it said failed to comply. Washington imposed a counter-blockade on Iranian ports. In peacetime, roughly 20 percent of the world's oil passes through the strait, giving the negotiations global economic importance.
Qatar and Pakistan helped secure an April ceasefire and a June memorandum between Iran and the United States, but both arrangements collapsed. The new diplomatic activity showed that mediators still saw room for talks. It did not, however, produce an agreement: the sides remained divided over US sanctions and military pressure, Iranian control of navigation, and the terms for reopening Hormuz. No timetable for another US-Iran meeting was announced.
