Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, is scheduled to visit Tehran on Thursday for discussions with Iranian officials aimed at de-escalating regional tensions and creating conditions for dialogue between Iran and the United States. Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the diplomatic visit on Wednesday.
In a statement posted on the social media platform X, ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said Sheikh Mohammed will meet with several Iranian officials to “discuss ways to de-escalate tensions” and “create the conditions conducive to dialogue.” The statement affirmed that the visit aligns with Qatar’s position that diplomacy is the “best means of resolving differences & promoting security & stability in the region.”
Iranian officials also confirmed the prime minister’s visit, noting that the agenda includes “the continuation of Qatar’s mediation efforts and initiatives, as well as other regional developments.”
The visit occurs in the context of stalled diplomatic efforts between Washington and Tehran. Qatar previously served as an intermediary, helping to broker a memorandum of understanding in June that temporarily paused hostilities. That agreement ended in July.
On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump told Al Jazeera he was in “no hurry” to restart talks with Iran. “I have no time schedule; whatever it takes,” he said, adding that he believed economic and military actions were effective. The U.S. has announced its intention to increase economic pressure on Iran by sanctioning its trade partners.
Iran has publicly objected to the sanctions. On Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi sent a letter to the United Nations characterizing the measures as an “act of state and economic terrorism.” He wrote that the sanctions “deliberately harm civilians by restricting access to food, medicine, medical equipment, energy and other essentials” and called on U.N. member states not to implement them.
Discussions during Sheikh Mohammed’s visit are also expected to address the status of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime passage for global energy shipments. Before February, the strait facilitated the transit of approximately 20 million barrels of crude oil per day (bpd). On Monday, that volume was recorded at 5 million bpd. Qatar’s Foreign Ministry stated that Sheikh Mohammed plans to discuss “the need for it to return to the status quo prior to February 28.”
The Qatari diplomatic mission follows other recent visits to Tehran. Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi met with his Iranian counterpart earlier in the week. Following those talks, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, said the two nations had agreed on a new temporary shipping route in the strait but maintained that the waterway would not fully reopen until the U.S. meets commitments from the June agreement. Pakistan’s army chief, Asim Munir, also visited Tehran this week for talks that Islamabad reported had made “significant progress.”
