Qatar presses US-Iran mediation to avert regional escalation

DOHA: Qatar is continuing its mediation efforts between the United States and Iran to prevent tensions in the region from escalating, Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said on Saturday, according to Al Jazeera.

Al-Thani said Washington remained open to finding a solution even after the US midterm elections, indicating that its willingness to reach an agreement with Tehran had not changed.

He said significant progress had been made in the efforts and expressed confidence that a settlement could be reached.

“We cannot wait to reach a perfect agreement; we hope to reach a good agreement,” he said.

Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said on Saturday that initial reports indicated two missiles had struck Qeshm Island, adding there was no official information on possible damage.

The United States has not yet announced any attack on targets inside Iran.

Countries in the region had been anticipating that US President Donald Trump, who has held off on strikes on Iran during the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s midterm elections, could restart attacks once the voting is over. Iran has repeatedly said it would respond to new attacks by striking at US and Israeli targets in neighboring countries.

Iran has been proposing its own seven-day plan since September, so far rejected by Trump. It calls for Washington to lift a blockade of Iranian ports, unfreeze assets and approve an Iranian-backed route through the Strait of Hormuz, after which the contested waterway would be reopened.