Iran

Zarif hails Qatar’s success in resisting Saudi-led pressure

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has hailed Qatar for its success in resisting Saudi-led pressure and extortion from a coalition of Arab countries.

Zarif’s congratulation on Tuesday came after Riyadh reached an agreement with Doha to end a three-year feud by reopening the Saudi airspace and land and sea borders to Qatar.

The top Iranian diplomat took to his Twitter account and highlighted Tehran’s stabilizing role in the region and warned neighboring Arab states against stoking tensions as the administration of outgoing US President Donald Trump serves its final days in office.

Zarif also expressed hope those neighboring countries would accept Iran’s offer for a strong region.

“Congratulations to Qatar for the success of its brave resistance to pressure & extortion,” Zarif said in his tweet. “To our other Arab neighbors: Iran is neither an enemy nor threat. Enough scapegoating—especially with your reckless patron on his way out. Time to take our offer for a strong region. #HOPE.”

 

Congratulations to Qatar for the success of its brave resistance to pressure & extortion.

To our other Arab neighbors: Iran is neither an enemy nor threat. Enough scapegoating—especially with your reckless patron on his way out.

Time to take our offer for a strong region. #HOPE

— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) January 5, 2021

The 41st meeting of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council attended by officials from the six member states was held in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday evening with the aim of reconciliation among the members.

The meeting in the northwestern Saudi city of al-Ula was entitled to resumption of diplomatic relations between the kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt on the one side, and Qatar on the other.

The quartet severed diplomatic, trade and travel ties with Qatar in mid-2017 after accusing Qatar of supporting terrorism. Doha denied the charges and said the embargo was an attack on its sovereignty.

Doha had been set 13 demands, ranging from closing Al Jazeera television and shuttering a Turkish base to cutting links to the Muslim Brotherhood and downgrading ties with Iran.

Qatar rebuffed the demands as “unreasonable.”

The blockade led Qatar to forge closer ties with Iran and Turkey in order to broaden its trade options or reroute its flights.

 

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