Qatar engages Oman and Pakistan in talks to ease US-Iran clash over Strait of Hormuz

Qatar announced that it is conducting diplomatic talks with Oman and Pakistan to try to calm the flare-up between the United States and Iran that has crippled shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari warned that normalising the strait’s closure would only deepen regional escalation, stressing that the disruption harms everyone. He reminded listeners that roughly 25 % of the world’s seaborne trade normally moves through the strait, and that the conflict has already pushed energy prices sharply higher.

Tehran and Oman have discussed a temporary alternative route, but Iran insists the United States first honor a June memorandum of understanding. Qatar, whose economy has felt the fallout, is urging all sides back to negotiations, citing the Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani’s recent trip to Tehran as a mediation gesture. The ministry also accused Israel of using the Iran-US war to impose a new reality across Palestinian, Lebanese and Syrian territories, warning that this could spark a broader regional flare-up.