WANA (Jul 10) – A Qatari political delegation traveled to Iran on Friday, July 10, for consultations with officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

 

Given that Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi is currently in Mashhad, it appears the Qatari delegation—led at the level of one of the Qatari foreign minister’s advisers—has also traveled to Mashhad.

 

According to reports, the main purpose of the visit is to reinforce Qatar’s role as a mediator following the events of Tuesday and Thursday.

 

During those developments, after Qatar accused Iran over an alleged incident in the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. military carried out extensive attacks on a number of Iranian military and civilian targets on Wednesday and Thursday.

 

The U.S. attacks on Iran began early Wednesday, only a few hours after Qatar’s Foreign Ministry issued a strongly worded statement accusing Iran of attacking a Qatari vessel.

 

Responding to Qatar’s allegation, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson expressed regret over the accusation, describing it as “questionable, contrary to the principle of good neighborliness, and unacceptable.”

 

The spokesperson also referred to Clause 5 of the memorandum of understanding on ending the war, which assigns the Islamic Republic of Iran responsibility for the future administration of the Strait of Hormuz and the provision of maritime services.

 

He stressed that “the Islamic Republic of Iran is seriously committed to fulfilling its obligations and expects regional countries—particularly Qatar, which, as a mediator, is fully aware of the details of the memorandum of understanding—as well as shipping companies, to refrain from any actions that contradict the provisions of that memorandum.”

 

In addition, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson pointed to the actions of some commercial vessels that had navigated through routes not coordinated with Iran while switching off or manipulating their ship tracking or GPS (AIS) systems in order to remove themselves from the visibility of monitoring and safety systems.

 

He emphasized that such behavior could increase the risk of collisions, create environmental hazards, undermine the security of the shipping route, and disrupt the Islamic Republic of Iran’s efforts to facilitate safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.

 

If the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson’s remarks are taken as reflecting Iran’s view of Qatar’s conduct over the past week, then, according to this assessment, the Qatari side is expected during this visit to explain why, despite having full knowledge of Clause 5 of the Islamabad memorandum of understanding, it allegedly sought to cooperate with the United States in bypassing the route designated by Iran, and why it moved so quickly to accuse Iran before making any contact with Tehran.