DOHA (Reuters) -Qatar’s prime minister said on Tuesday relations with Iran have been scarred by an Iranian missile volley at a U.S. airbase in the Gulf Arab state, but that he hoped ties would eventually “come back to normal”.
Iran responded to U.S. participation in Israel’s air war against Iran by firing missiles on Monday at the Al Ubeid air base, but no one was hurt after Tehran gave advance warning, and a ceasefire was announced hours later by Washington.
Qatar, situated just across the Gulf from Iran, has often acted as a mediator in regional conflicts, including between Iran and the United States and between Israel and Hamas in the continuing Gaza war.
“What happened will definitely have its scar on the relationship (with Iran), but I hope by the time everyone learns the lesson that this kind of neighbourhood relationship should not be violated and should not be undermined,” Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, told a press conference with his Lebanese counterpart in Doha.
“The partnership between Qatar and the U.S. is just growing stronger… and I hope the good relationship with Iran comes back to normal as soon as possible,” he said.
Al Thani added that Qatar had liaised with Iran at Washington’s request to help facilitate the ceasefire.
“We hope the ceasefire will continue as agreed upon, and we urge both the U.S. and Iran to return to the negotiating table with the aim of reaching a comprehensive diplomatic solution, something that Qatar has consistently sought,” he said.
He added that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian expressed regret in a phone call with Qatar’s ruling Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani that Tehran’s target in retaliating for U.S. airstrikes was a military base in Qatar.
(Reporting by Andrew Mills in Doha, Nayera Abdallah and Jana Choukeir in Dubai;editing by Alison Williams and Mark Heinrich)
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