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Qatar's diplomatic prowess was lavished with praise by US President Donald Trump on his visit this week, suggesting the maverick mediator state may be set for more involvement on one of the region's trickiest dossiers: Iran.
Trump's remarks could herald a bigger role for Qatar as the US-Iran talks mediated by Oman appear headed for crunch time.
During a state dinner in Doha this week, Trump appeared to acknowledge Qatar’s crucial role in helping put off a US military strike on Iran amid high stakes talks over Tehran's disputed nuclear program.
Trump praised Qatar’s leadership, specifically Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, for resisting calls within Washington and its allies to deliver a “hard blow” to Iran.
“Iran should seriously thank the emir of Qatar, because there are others who want to deal a hard blow to Iran, unlike Qatar,” Trump said. “Iran is very lucky to have the emir because he’s actually fighting for them. He doesn’t want us to do a vicious blow to Iran.”
Hashem Ahelbarra, a correspondent for Qatar-owned Al-Jazeera, said the comments strongly indicate a potential larger role for Doha in mediating a settlement between Tehran and Washington.
“They played quite a crucial role in mediating between the Iranians and the Americans in the past.”
Increased Qatari engagement would come at a time Iran is signaling openness to include its Sunni Arab neighbors in the nuclear negotiation process.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s visits to Riyadh and Doha earlier this month just ahead of the fourth round of nuclear talks held in Oman and Abu Dhabi highlight Tehran’s willingness to broaden the regional dialogue.
Perils of potential US-Iran military confrontation for Qatar
The gas-rich microstate has been key mediator for the United States in regional conflagrations from Afghanistan to Gaza.
Qatar, which has strong ties with the US and hosts Al Udeid Air Base—the largest US military base in the Middle East—opposes any US or Israeli military strike on Iran and its nuclear facilities, emphasizing the risk of regional destabilization, and seeks a diplomatic solution.
Iranian officials, including Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, have issued multiple warnings that Iran would retaliate against US military bases and interests in the region if Washington initiates a military strike.
“We have no hostility toward our neighboring countries, and brotherhood prevails among us. However, US bases located in the region's countries will be considered targets by us in the event of an attack on the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he said.
Additionally, Iran has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil shipping route, if a war breaks out.
In March 2025, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani warned that military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities could have catastrophic environmental consequences, such as contaminating the Persian Gulf’s waters.
This, he said, would imperil the water security of Qatar, along with other states like the UAE and Kuwait, all of which rely heavily on desalinated water from the Persian Gulf.
Good neighbors
Iran and Qatar, which share stewardship of South Pars, the world’s largest natural gas field, have maintained close economic and political relations over the years.
Iran played a crucial role in helping Qatar maintain economic stability and connectivity with the outside world when Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt imposed a blockade on Qatar in 2017, partly due to its close ties with Iran.
Tehran offered Doha diplomatic support, opened its airspace to Qatari aircraft, sent dozens of cargo planes and ships loaded with food, and expanded maritime trade routes to Qatar through its southern ports.
More recently, Doha initiated indirect talks between the US and Iran in 2023, focusing on potential compromises around Iran’s uranium enrichment levels in exchange for phased sanctions relief.
Qatar also played a pivotal role in facilitating the release of five American citizens detained in Iran in September 2023, hosting multiple rounds of indirect negotiations between US and Iranian officials in Doha.
The detainees were freed in exchange for five Iranians held in the US, alongside the transfer of $6 billion in Iranian funds previously frozen in South Korea.
The unfrozen funds, stipulated to be used solely for humanitarian purposes, such as purchasing food and medicine, were transferred to Qatari banks and Qatar committed to overseeing the disbursement of these funds to ensure compliance with US sanctions.
The funds, however, have not been made available to Iran due to a quiet agreement between Washington and Doha.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei blamed Washington for obstructing the release of the funds during his meeting with the Emir of Qatar in Tehran in February and said Iran expected Doha to resist US pressure.
Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of Islamic Republic's founder Ruhollah Khomeini, criticized US President Donald Trump’s remarks comparing the progress of Arab countries in the region to that of Iran under the clerical establishment.
“Yes, you have power. But this kind of speech makes people view you with greater skepticism" amid nuclear talks with Tehran, Khomeini said.
He defended Iran’s current diplomatic approach to the US, saying, “The decision to engage in indirect negotiations with the United States was a rational one made by the country’s leadership and officials. It may succeed, or it may fail due to the other side’s unreliability.”
“But for the president of the United States to speak in such a vulgar and demeaning tone in the midst of these negotiations is unacceptable. Although this type of rhetoric has been used before, it has not been expressed as it was recently,” he added.
A New Jersey man convicted of attempting to kill Salman Rushdie—the outspoken author who has lived for decades under a religious death warrant issued by Islamic Republic founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini—was sentenced on Friday to 25 years in prison.
In February, a jury found Hadi Matar guilty of second-degree attempted murder for the August 12, 2022, attack at the Chautauqua Institution in southwestern New York.
Rushdie was stabbed multiple times in the face and neck during a speaking event, leaving him blind in one eye.
In a separate charge, Matar was sentenced to seven years for second-degree assault for stabbing Henry Reese, co-founder of Pittsburgh’s City of Asylum, who was hosting the event. Both sentences will run concurrently.
He also faces federal charges accusing him of attempting to murder Rushdie as an act of terrorism and of providing material support to Hezbollah. A separate trial on those charges is pending in Buffalo.
Rushdie, 77, has lived under threat since 1989, when Iran’s then-supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for his death over The Satanic Verses, a novel deemed blasphemous by the Islamic Republic.
Speaking about the trauma suffered by Rushdie, Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt said: "He's traumatized. He has nightmares about what he experienced."
"Obviously this is a major setback for an individual that was starting to emerge in his very later years of life into society after going into hiding after the fatwa."
Matar's attorney, Nathaniel Barone, said his client plans to appeal the verdict.
Iran has not received any written proposal from the United States, either directly or indirectly, and will not abandon its right to enrich uranium under any scenario, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday in a statement on X.
“The messaging we—and the world—continue to receive is confusing and contradictory,” Araghchi wrote. “Iran nonetheless remains determined and straightforward: Respect our rights and terminate your sanctions, and we have a deal.”
“Mark my words: there is no scenario in which Iran abandons its hard-earned right to enrichment for peaceful purposes,” he added.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday accused Iran of orchestrating Houthi attacks against Israel and warned that Israel would escalate its military response, including further strikes on the group’s leadership and infrastructure.
“Iran stands behind them, providing support, guidance and approval,” Netanyahu said.
“The Houthis will pay a very heavy price, and we will defend ourselves through all necessary means to protect Israel's security.”
Earlier on Friday, Israeli airstrikes targeted the Houthi-controlled ports of Hodeidah and Salif in Yemen. The Israeli military reported that 15 fighter jets dropped over 30 munitions on these ports, which it said were to be used for transferring weapons.
Netanyahu confirmed the strikes saying, “Our pilots have now successfully struck two Houthi terrorist ports again, and this is just the continuation, with more to come.”
“We are not willing to sit aside and let the Houthis harm us. We will strike them much harder, including their leadership and all infrastructure that enables them to attack us.”
The Houthis have continued firing missiles at Israel in support of Palestinians in Gaza, though they have stopped targeting US ships.
In response, Israel has launched retaliatory strikes, including a May 6 attack on Sanaa airport in Yemen that killed several people.
