Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani is visiting Tehran on Thursday to discuss ending hostilities and reviving failed negotiations between Iran and the United States. Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson said he would meet Iranian officials to create conditions for dialogue.
The visit follows high-level meetings by Pakistan’s army chief and Oman’s foreign minister, but there is no confirmation that Washington is directly involved in the renewed diplomatic activity. The United States and Iran remain officially at war, and both sides have continued hardline public statements.
Why the Strait of Hormuz is central to the talks
Sheikh Mohammed is expected to address the Strait of Hormuz and the need for it to return to the status quo before February 28. Shipping traffic through the narrow Gulf waterway, which carried more than one-fifth of global oil and gas supplies before the war, has collapsed, creating a crisis in global energy markets.
Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi met Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Tehran on Tuesday. Iran’s deputy foreign minister said the countries had agreed on a temporary route allowing vessels to enter through Iranian waters, with Tehran retaining partial control over exit routes. Iran has also said the strait will remain closed until US sanctions are lifted and Iranian assets are unfrozen. For additional context, see “Iran and Oman weigh a temporary shipping route through Hormuz”.
What the other governments are doing
Pakistan’s army chief, Asim Munir, met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Supreme National Security Council secretary Mohsen Rezaei on Monday. The meetings came as mediators sought to bring Iran and the United States back to negotiations.
Qatar helped secure the June memorandum of understanding that temporarily paused hostilities, but the arrangement has expired. Oman and Iran have separately been negotiating how to jointly govern the shared waterway.
Diplomatic signals remain mixed
The reported progress in Iran-Oman discussions has been viewed by some experts as a sign that Tehran may be open to negotiations. The United States is also expected to begin returning diplomatic staff evacuated from Middle Eastern posts as early as next week. Posts in Jordan, Israel and Oman are due to be fully restored, while missions in several other countries will operate with reduced staffing. A related part of this story is covered in “Pakistan’s Munir Tests Iran’s Readiness to Resume US Talks”.
That move has not been confirmed as a response to the diplomatic effort. Analysts have interpreted it as evidence of US confidence that the conflict will not escalate militarily, even though face-to-face talks have broken down.
Washington has simultaneously increased economic pressure. President Donald Trump said he was in no hurry to resume talks, while the administration imposed sanctions on more than 60 people and organisations linked to Iran’s digital-assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping sectors. Iran condemned the measures in a letter to the United Nations, calling them an act of state and economic terrorism. The development of this issue can be followed in “Qatar’s prime minister heads to Tehran for de-escalation talks”.
What happens next
Qatar’s prime minister is due to hold talks with Iranian officials in Tehran on Thursday, while the United States’ reported return of diplomatic staff could begin as early as next week.
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