A top Qatari official stressed the need for “all parties” to cool down tensions in the Middle East during a meeting with Vice President J.D. Vance.
Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Than, met with Mr. Vance in Washington on Friday while the U.S. waits for Iran’s reply to a peace proposal.
The Qatar foreign ministry was the first to offer a readout of the meeting. It said the sheikh “stressed the need for all parties to engage with the ongoing mediation efforts, to pave the way for addressing the root causes of the crisis through peaceful means and dialogue, leading to a comprehensive agreement that achieves lasting peace in the region.”
Qatar, like other U.S. allies in the Gulf, has been heavily impacted by the war. It’s been targeted by Iranian strikes and faces a negative impact on its energy and tourism sectors.
With many countries seeking an end to the conflict, Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday said that Washington anticipated a response from Iran on the U.S. peace deal by the end of the day.
Speaking to reporters in Italy, Mr. Rubio was scant on details but said that the public should know something more about Iran’s response at the start of the weekend.
Iranian officials had said Thursday that they were still considering the U.S. proposal, which was relayed through Pakistani mediators earlier this week. The terms of the deal have not been made public.
The U.S. and Israel launched a military operation against Iran on Feb. 28 in an attempt to curtail its nuclear ambitions, its missile program and support for terror proxies in the Middle East.
Iran retaliated by clamping down on maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, an oil chokepoint, and striking U.S. allies in the Gulf region.
The parties have been operating under a ceasefire since April 7, but they have struggled to agree on a long-lasting peace deal.
Mr. Trump has threatened to restart a massive bombing campaign on Iran if it does not agree to the deal, which could provide a framework for comprehensive negotiations to begin.
U.S. and Iranian forces traded fire on Thursday and Friday, jeopardizing the fragile ceasefire between the nations.
The U.S. military on Friday said it intercepted two Iranian tankers that were trying to evade a blockade by pulling into Iranian ports.
U.S. Central Command posted photographs of the smoking tankers after a U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet shot precision munitions into their smokestacks.
Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates said its air defense systems were actively intercepting Iranian ballistic missiles and drones on Friday, one day after the U.S. and Iranian forces traded fire in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran says its aggression in the strait was in response to U.S. violations of the ceasefire a day earlier, when U.S. ships allegedly attacked an Iranian oil tanker moving toward the Strait of Hormuz.
“Every time a diplomatic solution is on the table, the U.S. opts for a reckless military adventure. Is it a crude pressure tactic? Or the result of a spoiler once again duping POTUS into another quagmire?” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X. “Whatever the causes, outcome is the same: Iranians never bow to pressure.”
