On Thursday, Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi received Qatar’s Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in the capital Tehran.
Iran’s Presidency issued a statement reporting that the two officials held talks on regional developments. Iranian President stressed the presence of foreign actors in the region, labelling them as factors threatening security and perturbational.
“Foreigners do not respect the identities of locals. They see themselves as the rulers of the world,” the Iranian president said.
Iran’s President also stressed the significance of regional collaboration and said that countries in the area should improve relations between them. This would be for the benefit of peace and security of the region, he added.
For his part, the Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman delivered an invitation sent by Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to Iran’s President Raisi for the upcoming Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), which is expected to be held in Doha soon.
Qatar’s top diplomat stated that his country does not flinch from spending any efforts to improve ties with Tehran in every field.
The meeting between Raisi and Sheikh Mohammed came within the scope of the latter’s visit to Tehran. Sheikh Mohammed also came together with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian before the meeting with Raisi.
According to the readout of the meeting issued by the Iranian Foreign Ministry, the two top diplomats discussed issues regarding Yemen and Afghanistan.
Amir-Abdollahian was in Doha, Qatar’s capital, earlier this month for high-level meetings with the Qatari FM and Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
They addressed the latest developments in Vienna where talks are underway to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers by eliminating US sanctions and curtailing Iran’s nuclear program.
Qatar has long lobbied for a resumption of the nuclear accord in order to de-escalate tensions in the region.
Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman’s visit to Iran took place shortly before the Qatari Emir’s planned visit to Washington on January 31. Emir Sheikh Tamim will meet with President Joe Biden at the White House.
