Qatar Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari made statements on the implementation of the ceasefire plan in Gaza, the situation in the Strait of Hormuz and negotiations between the United States and Iran at a press conference in Doha.
Al-Ansari said Qatar, Egypt and Türkiye were working in coordination to implement the ceasefire agreement in Gaza. He said Israel must fulfill its obligations if it wants to be part of the region.
Al-Ansari said the mediators remained determined to advance the process despite Israel’s negative position on implementing the Gaza ceasefire plan, and called on the international community to pressure Israel to fully implement the agreed plan.
Al-Ansari said Israel’s rejection of the Gaza roadmap in the ceasefire plan posed a high risk to the region and was unacceptable. He called on the international community to pressure Israel to accept U.S. President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan.
Doha’s priority for the Strait of Hormuz
Outlining Qatar’s priorities within the mediation framework, Al-Ansari called for the Strait of Hormuz to remain open as it was before the war, freedom of navigation to be protected and regional tensions to end. He said the parties needed to return to the negotiating table.
We emphasize that the situation in the Strait of Hormuz must return to what it was before the crisis and that freedom of navigation must be ensured there.
Al-Ansari said reopening the Strait of Hormuz and securing supply chains through diplomatic solutions were priorities for Qatar. He said Iran’s closure of the strait violated the freedom of navigation guaranteed under international law.
Al-Ansari said Qatar had not yet decided whether to support U.S. economic sanctions against Iran, adding that they hoped all parties would be included in the negotiations and that the crisis would be resolved through mediation and diplomacy.
Contacts to restart U.S.-Iran negotiations
Al-Ansari said uninterrupted contacts were being maintained with the parties to the tensions to restart talks between the United States and Iran, adding that there had been no new development or progress in the negotiations so far.
Al-Ansari said they rejected Iran’s efforts to involve regional countries in the tensions when it came under attack, and that Gulf countries were coordinating comprehensively against possible scenarios of heightened tensions. He said the countries of the region supported a peaceful solution to the U.S.-Iran crisis.
Warning that a possible military escalation could affect both the region and the world amid current economic conditions, Al-Ansari said Qatar had taken precautionary measures in the economic sphere because of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. He emphasized that these measures did not mean changes to the structural elements of Qatar’s economy.
Al-Ansari also said they were closely monitoring developments in the occupied West Bank and condemned Israel’s actions. He said Qatar welcomed the decision by the U.S. administration to remove Syria from the list of countries that support terrorism.
