Qatar warned Iran on Tuesday it will not be used as a “political punching bag,” calling for a "comprehensive deal" that would secure the Gulf. In response to Euronews, Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman said "we applaud our partners in Europe for taking the lead" in the Strait of Hormuz crisis.
"We will not be used as political punching bags in this war" and will not tolerate attacks on its sovereignty, Qatar warned Iran on Tuesday, as Tehran continued to block the Strait of Hormuz.
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“Any attack on our sovereignty cannot be justified by any means, and we have taken all the necessary precautions to make sure that we are safe from this aggression,” Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Dr Majed Al-Ansari said in Doha.
His remarks come as Gulf leaders met in Saudi Arabia for the first time since the Iran war started, to address the Strait of Hormuz crisis and the broader conflict gripping the region.
“I don't think that there was a general GCC push for more escalation with Iran," Al-Ansari said.
"I think if you go back to before this war has started, there was actually a rapprochement with Iran, we were attempting to find a diplomatic resolution through engagement with Iran," he added. "I think this is a position that Qatar has always held."
"However, we have made it very clear that we will not be used as political punching bags in this war, that any attack on our sovereignty cannot be justified by any means, and we have taken all the necessary precautions to make sure that we are safe from this aggression that has come to our country."
"And we are supportive right now of the process of the mediation," the Qatari foreign ministry official outlined Doha's position.
Al-Ansari said the Strait of Hormuz “should have never been closed and it should be opened immediately regardless of other considerations going on in the region."
He insisted that using the critical maritime chokepoint as a political bargaining chip by Iran is unacceptable.
'We applaud our partners in Europe'
In an answer to Euronews about the European efforts by the UK and France to secure safe navigation in the key waterway, Al-Ansari said Qatar "applaud our partners in Europe for taking the lead on this and ... we are continuing to engage with them."
"We are supportive of all and every international effort that would lead to a diplomatic solution, and that would lead to the opening of the strait and to securing the straits in the future," Al-Ansari told Euronews.
"But we are still in preliminary talks, of course, with all these parties, with our regional partners."
Qatar's foreign ministry official added that the Iran war had shifted how countries in the region assess security risks.
“The main concern right now in the region is the security of the region. The threat perception in the region has changed as a result of this war,” he said.
“The stability has been put into question, and what we need right now are security guarantees that would make sure that we would not return to the situation a couple of months down the road.”
Qatar calls for a 'comprehensive' regional agreement
The Qatar foreign ministry official has called for a broader political settlement that takes into account the interests of all parties, including Iran.
“We want a comprehensive deal that would address the interest of all the people in the region, including the Iranians, our people, and the concerns of the international community regarding Iran,” Al-Ansari said.
At the same time, he acknowledged that any progress is likely to come in stages.
“Peace is incremental, and we are not against any deal that would maintain the ceasefire, which is a positive trajectory for us.”
Qatar supports Pakistan's mediation — with whom Doha is coordinating mediation efforts — so much so that "we do not need to expand the circle of negotiations," Al-Ansari said.
“Our position has been clear from day one: any conflict in the region should be solved on the negotiation table."
"And we believed in the negotiation process and we were supportive of the negotiation process and we will remain supportive of a diplomatic resolution,” he added.
Despite the escalation, Al-Ansari said there is no broader Gulf push towards confrontation with Tehran.
“I don’t think that there was a general GCC push for more escalation with Iran,” he said**,** adding that Gulf states had previously sought to ease tensions with Iran.
“We were attempting to find a diplomatic resolution through engagement with Iran, and this is a position that Qatar has always held.”