Qatar PM in Tehran to revive diplomacy as US tightens economic squeeze on Iran

Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, held talks in Tehran on Thursday with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, in a renewed push to revive diplomacy between Washington and Tehran.

The visit comes as the conflict nears its sixth month, with fighting largely paused but no political breakthrough in sight. Qatar, a Gulf neighbour of Iran and a US ally, has previously acted as a back-channel negotiator and helped secure a ceasefire in June that briefly halted hostilities.

At the centre of the discussions was the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil chokepoint that Tehran has used as leverage. According to Qatar's foreign ministry, the two sides discussed a phased framework that would include a temporary joint Iranian-Omani shipping corridor through the strait and a joint mine-clearing operation.

A memorandum of understanding reached between the US and Iran in June broke down partly over differences between Iran and Oman regarding the strait. Tehran has said the waterway will remain closed unless the US meets conditions agreed under the interim ceasefire, including lifting the blockade on Iranian ports, paying compensation, and removing sanctions.

Meanwhile, the White House said on Thursday that no negotiations are currently taking place between the US and Iran. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump "continues to retain all options on the table" and described the latest measures as "Operation Economic Outcast," aimed at destroying Iran's economy. She added that talks would not resume until Tehran "comes to the table in a meaningful way."

Iranian officials have responded defiantly. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf called for national unity in the face of what he termed "all-out economic war," warning that internal division would play into the enemy's hands. The head of parliament's national security committee, Ebrahim Azizi, described the sanctions as an "inhumane and hostile act" but said they had lost their effectiveness.

On the strait itself, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Wednesday that Tehran and Oman had agreed on how to share the waterway and its revenues, though a senior Iranian source later said details were still being worked out. The strait was open to free navigation before the war, but Iran has since sought to control it and charge ships a commission, a move the US opposes.

The International Maritime Organization has recorded 70 incidents in the strait since February 28, resulting in the deaths of 19 seafarers. Thousands of others have died in the broader conflict, mostly in Iran and Lebanon, since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran with stated goals of denying it a nuclear weapon, helping Iranians topple their government, and destroying its missile programme.