Qatar emir warns Gulf at 'most dangerous phase' at UNGA — SkimNews
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- Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani told the UN General Assembly the Gulf is experiencing "one of the most dangerous phases" due to the US-Israel war on Iran and called for a "regional system of collective security" to prevent future conflicts.
- Sheikh Tamim said the crisis can be resolved through diplomatic means, specifically calling for reopening the Strait of Hormuz to maritime navigation to avert further war, and reaffirmed Qatar's role as a "trusted mediator."
- Trump held what he called a "very good" three-hour meeting with the Iranian delegation shortly after Sheikh Tamim's address, despite having repeated his threat to "annihilate" Iran in his own UN speech.
- The nearly seven-month-old war has seen the US and Iran trading strikes on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, and Saudi Arabia shuttered its key East-West oil pipeline in September after drone strikes launched from Iraq.
- The war began February 28 with US-Israel strikes on Iran during negotiations on its nuclear programme, killing Iran's supreme leader, other top officials, and dozens of civilians; Iran retaliated with strikes across the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, and Bahrain.
- Sheikh Tamim called the situation in Gaza "genocide in every sense of the word" and condemned Israeli aggression in the occupied West Bank as expanding into neighboring countries, "affecting the security of the region as a whole."
Why it matters: The seven-month war has already shut Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline and triggered tanker strikes in the Strait of Hormuz, meaning Qatar's diplomatic push now directly bears on restoring the Gulf's energy and shipping lifelines — and Trump's parallel three-hour meeting with Iran signals Washington is engaging even as its UN rhetoric stays maximalist.
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