Qatar’s prime minister said a hotline between the US and Iran was essential to stop rogue actors from disrupting the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani told the FT the hotline, agreed during US-Iran talks in Switzerland, was needed to counter "disinformation" and verify threats to ships as mines were cleared from the waterway.
"A challenge" was that people seeking to disrupt the deal could use shipping communications to issue false warnings, he said.
"The hotline’s purpose is to make sure that any ship that gets any type of threat is to be verified by Iran ... and to let the ship pass safely," Sheikh Mohammed said.
He said the waterway had remained open despite statements by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards that it would close again in response to Israeli strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon. Mediators had checked with Iranian officials, who said no order had been issued to close it, he said.
LNG return
Qatar expects shipping through the strait to begin returning to normal in the first few weeks of the deal, though Sheikh Mohammed said restoring confidence would take time, the FT reported.
"It cannot be normal in one day, and it will take a lot of effort," he said.
Qatar would resume normal liquefied natural gas production "within a few weeks," except at damaged facilities, he said.
QatarEnergy suspended production after attacks on its Ras Laffan facilities during the war. The company will lift force majeure only when it judges it is safe to operate, Sheikh Mohammed said.
He said Doha would oppose any Iranian plan to charge ships fees to pass through the strait.
"We cannot accept a situation or a condition where our gateway to the world is controlled," he said.
The US and Iran agreed under their memorandum of understanding to extend a ceasefire by 60 days and begin nuclear talks, with Qatar and Pakistan mediating efforts toward a final settlement.
