Qatar: Iran-US Negotiations Continue Amid Regional Tensions

Istanbul (ANTARA) – Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said negotiations between Iran and the United States (US) were continuing, with both sides maintaining communication amid rising regional tensions.

“Negotiations are still ongoing. We can see communication between the two sides,” Ansari, who is also an adviser to Qatar’s prime minister, said at the Global Security Forum in Doha on Tuesday.

He said discussions were also taking place with regional partners and expressed hope that the process would eventually lead to an agreement, although conditions on the ground were becoming increasingly difficult.

“Uncontrolled escalation will keep moving us towards a regional war that extends beyond the borders of our region,” he said.

Ansari said the current negotiations were a continuation of earlier efforts that had treated a ceasefire as a pathway to talks. Those efforts ultimately failed, however, and fighting resumed.

“A ceasefire is essentially a door that opens the way to a goal; it is not the goal itself,” he said.

The spokesman added that the previous ceasefire had “collapsed again”.

On Yemen, Ansari said the conflict there might be linked to tensions involving Iran, but also had its own dynamics. He described recent developments as part of a gradual escalation that began in 2023.

“The only way to ensure this does not continue is to start de-escalating all these conflicts at the same time,” he said.

Ansari also voiced concern about political statements made by Israeli officials. Regional instability, he said, should not be exploited for domestic political gain.

“We are concerned by the many statements being made, particularly political statements from Israel,” he said.

He added that using regional instability for domestic political disputes was not what responsible statesmen should do.