Qatar Pushes to Reopen Strait of Hormuz Amid US-Iran War — SkimNews
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- Qatar's Foreign Ministry said it is holding talks with Oman and Pakistan to de-escalate tensions after the recent flare-up between the US and Iran, with spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari warning that normalising the closure of the Strait of Hormuz 'will end with regional escalation.'
- Shipping in the Strait of Hormuz has ground almost to a halt since Israel and the US launched a war on Iran on February 28; the waterway previously carried around 25 percent of the world's seaborne trade.
- The US has enforced a blockade on Iranian ports while Iran has been accused of laying mines and attacking tankers, causing energy prices to skyrocket and economies worldwide to suffer, per Qatar.
- Iran and Oman have held talks on opening a temporary route through the strait, but Tehran is conditioning any deal on the US first returning to a memorandum of understanding agreed in June.
- Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani visited Tehran last week to encourage dialogue, with Al-Ansari describing regional visits as 'support [for] mediation efforts' to return to negotiations.
- Al-Ansari accused Israel of exploiting the war on Iran 'to impose a new reality in Palestinian, Lebanese and Syrian territories' and accused it of beginning a new regional escalation through ongoing bombing and occupation of Gaza, Syria and Lebanon.
Why it matters: Roughly 25 percent of global seaborne trade once transited the Strait of Hormuz; with the US blockading Iranian ports and Iran accused of mining and attacking tankers, energy prices have already skyrocketed, giving Qatar, Oman, and Pakistan economic skin in the game to push Tehran and Washington back to the June memorandum of understanding before the disruption hardens into a new normal.
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