KABUL (Pajhwok): Qatar says it is exchanging messages between the United States and Iran as diplomatic efforts continue to bridge differences and reach an agreement to end the conflict.
Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said Doha was facilitating communication between the two sides in an effort to establish common ground and prevent further consequences of the war.
“We are exchanging messages between the parties, and we’re working towards establishing common ground in order to get into a deal that would save all of us from the repercussions of the conflict,” Reuters quoted al-Ansari as saying.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry also confirmed that several meetings and exchanges of messages had taken place between the US and Iran in recent days.
Some of the contacts were held in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), while efforts to continue the talks are ongoing, the ministry said.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump reiterated that Iran must not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon and said the war would end soon.
Trump also rejected reports by Axios and CNN, citing unnamed US officials, that Washington was prepared to ease some sanctions on Iran and release frozen Iranian assets in exchange for concrete progress on a nuclear agreement.
Iran says it does not possess nuclear weapons and does not intend to develop them, but maintains that it has the right to peacefully use nuclear technology.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has also said Tehran is ready to negotiate over its nuclear programme and other issues, but will not accept “pressure and coercion.”
Last week, Iran presented a proposal on the sidelines of the UNGA aimed at ending the war.
Under the proposal, if an agreement were reached, a seven-day process would begin to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and halt the fighting.
Trump rejected the proposal, while Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Washington had not formally rejected it through mediators.
Reuters reported that the proposal and subsequent mediation efforts were part of the ongoing diplomatic contacts between the two sides.
The US-Iran war has affected global energy supplies, while restrictions on the movement of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz have contributed to higher global energy prices.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said one of the aims of the ongoing diplomatic efforts was to pave the way for a peaceful solution and restore freedom of navigation for vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, the US Department of Energy announced on Tuesday that it would make up to 40 million barrels of crude oil from the country’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve available to energy companies through an exchange programme.
The department said the move was part of a broader programme involving International Energy Agency member countries aimed at helping stabilise global oil markets.
kk/sa
