Qatar has said that the continued state of “no war, no peace” amid the US-Iran conflict is “unacceptable,” calling for the crisis to be resolved through dialogue and the Strait of Hormuz to be reopened without conditions.
“It is unacceptable for the state of neither peace nor war in the region to continue. This is draining the region, and the crisis must be ended through dialogue,” Ibrahim al-Hashimi, director of the Media and Communications Department at the Qatari foreign ministry, told a press conference on Tuesday.
“The Strait of Hormuz must be opened without conditions, and ensuring that it is not used as a pressure card is a top priority,” he added.
The remarks come amid heightened tensions in the Middle East as the US and Iran continue to exchange military attacks, while negotiations between the two sides remain stalled amid disagreements over navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway for global energy and commodity supplies.
The US and Israel launched a war against Iran on Feb. 28, killing more than 3,000 people, according to Tehran, which responded with attacks targeting US assets across the region.
Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding in June, with Pakistani and Qatari mediation, providing for a halt to military operations and arrangements to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to navigation.
Implementation of the agreement later stalled amid disagreements over mutual commitments and navigation through the strait, before hostilities resumed in July.
