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Qatar and Iran are discussing the possible establishment of a “temporary joint navigational corridor” through the Strait of Hormuz, the Qatari Foreign Ministry said Thursday, amid ongoing diplomatic efforts to de-escalate regional tensions.
Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani met Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Tehran, where they discussed efforts to create conditions conducive to dialogue, according to the ministry.
The talks also addressed a proposed “transitional framework” that would include the establishment of a “temporary joint navigational corridor” through the Strait of Hormuz, along with joint efforts to clear the waterway of mines.
Sheikh Mohammed stressed the need to “respect the sovereignty of neighboring states and freedom of navigation,” while continuing diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions.
Araghchi expressed Tehran’s appreciation for Qatar’s “continued diplomatic efforts aimed at reducing tensions and supporting dialogue.”
The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman, is a critical global shipping route and a key chokepoint for oil and gas exports from the Persian Gulf.
Sheikh Mohammed’s visit follows a week of intensive diplomacy in Iran, including separate meetings with Oman’s top diplomat and senior Pakistani officials seeking ways to end the Middle East war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian state television said Sheikh Mohammed, who is also Qatar’s prime minister, had met Araghchi, without providing further details.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said the two sides discussed de-escalation efforts as well as a proposed framework for Hormuz involving Iran and Oman.
Qatar, along with Pakistan, played a key role in securing an April ceasefire and a June deal between Iran and the United States, but those agreements have since collapsed.
The talks also come as Washington threatens wider secondary sanctions against countries, banks and companies that continue doing business with Iran, part of a broader campaign it has called “economic asphyxiation.”
Since the war with the United States broke out on Feb. 28, Iran has maintained tight control over Hormuz, a vital global energy conduit, while Washington has imposed a naval counter-blockade on Iranian ports.
Iranian Vice President Mohammad Jafar Ghaempanah said Wednesday that the blockade had prevented the country from importing enough petrol to cover a shortfall in domestic production.
“Petrol production is insufficient, and because of the U.S. naval blockade, we cannot import it,” the official IRNA news agency quoted him as saying.
Many Iranians have been seen queuing outside petrol stations in recent days.
Presidential chief of staff Mohsen Haji-Mirzaei said petrol quotas would be reviewed, without elaborating.
Iran, a major oil producer with some of the world’s cheapest fuel, has for years heavily subsidized petrol, making changes to pricing politically sensitive.
As the United States seeks to intensify pressure on Iran’s economy, Iranian officials have dismissed the measures as “failed policies” that will not force Tehran to change course.
“The country is in an all-out economic war,” Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in a statement carried by local media.
“We will see that the government ... will defeat the enemy on this ground as well,” he added.
Even before the war, Iran’s economy had been battered by decades of international sanctions and long suffered from chronic inflation and a weakening currency.
Iran has for weeks been in talks with Oman, which also overlooks the Strait of Hormuz, over a framework agreement that would establish a “temporary corridor” for shipping and provide for clearing mines Tehran says were laid during the war.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Wednesday that the two countries had agreed on each country’s share of the waters and any revenues collected from managing the waterway.
Tehran has nonetheless insisted that the strait will not be reopened unless Washington meets its demands, including lifting its naval blockade, unfreezing Iranian assets abroad and removing oil sanctions.
Since the war began, Iranian forces have required vessels to obtain permission to transit the waterway and struck ships that failed to comply.
Tehran has also sought to impose service fees on ships using the strait, a move strongly opposed by Washington and regional countries.
On Thursday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said an “unknown projectile” had struck a tanker in Hormuz this week, causing a fire that was later extinguished.
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