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September 13, 2026

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Abbas Araghchi and Sheikh Mohammed al-Thani

Qatar PM meets Pezeshkian, Rezaee as Doha seeks US-Iran mediation

Iran has recently signaled a desire to re-engage with the US but is hampered by internal divisions, said one expert.

Latest News

Qatar PM heads to Tehran amid flurry of regional diplomacy

Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed al-Thani

Oil falls 1.8% as traders await 'toughest' sanctions on Iran

Leon Neal/Getty Images

Analysis

Netanyahu yields to Trump on Gaza, betting Hamas won’t disarm

Ohad Zwigenberg / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Samuel Wendel

Senior Analyst, Middle East Business & Tech

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Vanessa Ghanem

In Dubai, reporting on business, energy and politics

Karen Young

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional energy

Reve Chaaban

In Doha reporting on culture

Qatari candidates register to run in the country's upcoming election as members of its top advisory panel, known as the Shura Council, in the capital, Doha, on Aug. 22, 2021.

Qatar to vote on ditching legislative council elections as Gulf states balk at representative rule

Qatar's first legislative council election was held in October 2021, a year before it hosted the FIFA World Cup, but the Gulf state now looks poised to roll back citizens' involvement in the legislative process.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (R) and Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani speak to the media following talks at the Chancellery, Berlin, Germany, May 20, 2022.

Qatari emir in Germany to boost economic ties

According to the German chancellery, Scholz will host the emir at Meseberg Castle, with the meeting focusing on deepening energy, trade and regional security ties.

JOHN WESSELS/AFP via Getty Images

Gulf governments silent as Iran, proxies mourn Hamas' Yahya Sinwar

Regional governments have not commented on Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar’s killing by Israeli forces in Gaza, but Iran and its proxy groups mourned his death, vowing that the resistance against Israel will continue.

A photograph taken on October 28, 2019 shows Saudi and foreign journalists at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) badge collection centre in the Saudi capital Riyadh. - Top finance executives and political leaders have converged on Saudi capital Riyadh for a Davos-style investment forum, in stark contrast to last year's mass boycott following the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi. US officials and the heads of giant banks, top asset management firms and major sovereign wealth funds top the g

Gulf sovereign investors unshaken by Middle East wars but opt for global markets

Gulf Cooperation Council investors accounted for 40% of deals made by sovereign investors globally in 2023 and 2024.

United Arab Emirates

Pictures of slain al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh hang on the facade of the building housing the television station's office in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, after Israel issued a 45-day closure order on September 22, 2024. Al Jazeera reported on September 22 that Israeli troops had raided its Ramallah bureau and informed journalists for the Doha-based network in the occupied West Bank to shutter operations. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP) (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

After Al Jazeera office closure, what's next for press freedom in Israel?

The closure of the Ramallah Al Jazeera office came after the office in Jerusalem was shut down by order of the Israeli government last May.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attends his first press conference, after taking office. on Sept. 16, 2024 in Tehran, Iran.

Pezeshkian in Qatar as Iran pushes to revive nuclear deal, isolate Israel

Coming just a day after Tehran launched a barrage of missiles at Israel, Iran is expecting the visit to serve as a multifaceted initiative, helping shape its future standing in the volatile landscape and boost prospects of sanctions relief to salvage its battered economy.

A Middle East Airlines commercial aircraft taking off from Beirut's international airport flies amid smoke billowing above the Lebanese capital's southern suburbs, in the aftermath of overnight Israeli airstrikes, on Sept. 28,2024.

Middle East airlines alter, axe flights following Iran missile attack on Israel

Late on Tuesday, Iran launched more than 180 ballistic missiles at Israel in what it said was in retaliation for last Friday’s assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, the chief of Lebanon-based militia Hezbollah.

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 31: U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar, in the Oval Office on January 31, 2022 in Washington, DC. The two leaders were expected to discuss a range of issues, including global energy security as concerns about Russian natural gas supplies continue. (Photo by Tom Brenner-Pool/New York Times/Getty Images)

Qatar to join US visa-free travel list in first for Arab country

Qatar is set to become the second Middle Eastern country, behind Israel, to join the US Visa Waiver Program.

The Olympic rings are seen during preparation works at the Eiffel Tower stadium in Paris on July 24, 2024, ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Analysis

Race for historic Middle East Olympics is on post-Paris

Regional players are ready to make their case for the 2036 games but face a crowded field of bidders.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Jennifer Gnana event

Al-Monitor expands Gulf coverage with new talent led by Jennifer Gnana

Iran's new foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi (L), meets with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani (R) in Tehran, on Aug. 26, 2024.

Qatari FM meets Araghchi, Pezeshkian in Iran amid Gaza cease-fire talks

The visit is the Qatari premier’s first to Iran since 2022, and it coincides with renewed efforts to reach a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

ABU DHABI, 4th June, 2024 (WAM) -- President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan received an Afghan delegation led by Sirajuddin Haqqani, Minister of Interior Affairs.

Analysis

Qatar rivalry, security concerns drive UAE thaw with Afghanistan’s Taliban

The UAE has formally acknowledged a Taliban-appointed representative, making it only the second country, after China, to do so.

Sabena Siddiqui

By Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran