Qatar’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday that Qatar is continuing its role in the mediation between Israel and Hamas, by working with partners in Egypt and Turkey.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari dismissed Israeli reports alleging the Gulf state was reevaluating its engagement in mediation efforts involving Hamas in light of Iran’s attacks on the country.
During a weekly press briefing on Tuesday, Al-Ansari said Qatar does not “envision this role stopping any time soon”, pointing to the same source circulating similar claims.
“Let me stress that all of these claims are baseless[…] And therefore, this long history of spreading false information about Qatar and regional affairs should not be complemented through picking up everything that the source puts out there,” said Al-Ansari.
Al-Ansari confirmed that Qatar is continuing its role in the mediation by working with partners in Egypt and Türkiye.
Speaking about the U.S-Israel war with Iran, Majed Al-Ansari said that there has not been a push from the Gulf Cooperation Council “for more escalation with Iran”.
Al-Ansari added that the bloc “made it very clear” that it “will not be used as political punching bags” in the U.S.-Israel war with Iran.
“I don’t think that there was a general GCC push for more escalation with Iran[…] However, we have made it very clear that we will not be used as political punching bags in this war, that any attack on our sovereignty cannot be justified by any means,” said Al-Ansari, adding that Qatar has taken all the necessary precautions to make sure that it’s safe from the aggression.
Al-Ansari confirmed that Qatar is coordinating with Pakistan over its mediation efforts to end the war between the U.S and Iran.
Talking about developments in ceasefire talks, Al-Ansari said the issue right now is not with the mediator, adding that Pakistan is doing a great job in its mediation.
“Any conflict in the region should be solved at the negotiation table. And we believed in and supported the negotiation process. (…) We do not need to expand the circle of negotiations. We support Pakistani mediation,” said Al-Ansari.
Qatar has cautioned about the possibility of a “frozen conflict” in the Gulf, as talks between the US and Iran on a peace deal appear to be at an impasse.
“We do not want to see a return to hostilities in the region anytime soon, we do not want to see a frozen conflict that ends up being thawed every time there is a political reason,” Al-Ansari added.
Al-Ansari said that Doha would be in favour of a “comprehensive deal” to end the conflict, following a question about reports that Iran wants to decouple Hormuz talks from nuclear programme discussions.
He also said that blocking navigation cannot be justified and warned that the Strait of Hormuz should not be used as a pressure card, while confirming that Qatar is engaging with all its interlocutors to reopen the Strait.
“We believe it should have never been closed and it should be opened immediately regardless of other considerations going on in the region,” Al-Ansari concluded.
