Qatar’s FM urges ‘serious dialogue’ with Iran

In a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press, Foreign Minister Khalid al-Attiyah reiterated Qatar’s stance that it has and will continue to cooperate with investigators.

Attiyah’s remarks came a day after Qatar and other Gulf Arab allies on the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) cautiously welcomed the Iranian nuclear deal in a joint meeting Kerry in Doha, while also reaffirming their opposition to Tehran’s regional policies and ambitions. However, the visit of John Kerry has assured the Gulf Arab counties about the power balance in the Middle East.

Before Kerry’s arrival, foreign ministers of the GCC held a preparatory meeting in Doha on Sunday. “Its strategy is to unite as much as possible of the Sunni Middle East (excepting extremists like the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda)”.

“Today my counterparts and I have discussed the steps that we will take and how we intend to build an even stronger, more enduring and more strategic partnership with particular focus on our cooperative counterterrorism, counterinsurgency, and also on our cooperation in countering the destabilizing activities taking place in the region“, he said.

Al-Attiyah suggested that he was speaking for the entire council, although in the past, such meetings have been followed by disagreements among members.

U.S. officials rejected suggestions that Kerry was not visiting Israel this week because the administration has given up hope on convincing Netanyahu of the merits of the agreement.

Just last week, the State Department authorized the sale to Saudi Arabia of $5.4 billion in Patriot missiles and related equipment along with $500 million in ammunition.

At that meeting Obama replied to worries among Gulf states about the Iran deal by pledging to back them against any “external attack”.

The Obama administration has used the incentive of increased security ties and backing GCC efforts on the ground, particularly in Yemen, to help offset to GCC concerns about the wisdom of the Iran deal. He said he was confident the event would go ahead and will be “the best World Cup ever”. “There can be absolutely no question that the Vienna plan, if implemented, will make Egypt and all the countries of this region safer than they otherwise would be”.

In a column published Monday in Lebanon’s Arabic daily As-Safir, Zarif called on Arab countries to work with Tehran for the good of the region. He added that it would be “a gain for all our region by putting an end to needless tensions that lasted 12 years”, and said “we must all accept the fact that the era of zero-sum games is over, and we all win or lose together”.

“Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group is the main danger in Syria and neighboring Iraq and that is why Moscow supported the government of both countries”, Mr. Lavrov said, who also met with U.S. Secretary of State and Saudi Foreign Minister in Doha on Monday.