What was behind regional tour of Iranian foreign minister?
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif goes to Kuwait and Qatar to promote dialogue, perhaps because opportunities that once developed through Oman may no longer be as fruitful as they once were.
In recent visits to Kuwait and Qatar, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif discussed with regional leaders issues ranging from US plans for an international coalition in the Persian Gulf to the crisis in Yemen and dialogue with Saudi Arabia.
Zarif arrived in Qatar, a country with which Tehran has good relations, on Aug. 11 and met with officials from that country. He later took to Twitter to describe his one-day visit to Doha as very fruitful. His trip came as President Hassan Rouhani had a telephone conversation with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, also on Aug. 11. According to an informed source in the Iranian administration who spoke with Al-Monitor, “Various issues, including US plans for a [naval] presence in the Persian Gulf under the pretext of protecting commercial shipping, were discussed during Zarif’s trip. Iran also informed Qatar that implementing this plan will have unfavorable consequences for Washington.”
