Qatar’s prime minister travelled to Tehran on Thursday in a fresh push to revive diplomacy between the United States and Iran, as Washington’s promise of intensified economic pressure drew sharp warnings from Iranian officials who described the move as “all-out economic war.”
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who serves as both prime minister and foreign minister of the Gulf state, held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, according to Iran’s foreign ministry. The meeting was confirmed via the ministry’s Telegram channel and underscores Qatar’s continued role as a quiet intermediary between the estranged powers.
The visit comes as the broader conflict approaches its sixth month. Fighting has largely paused, but no diplomatic resolution is in sight. Central to the impasse is control of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply once flowed. Both Washington and Tehran are now jostling for leverage over the chokepoint, which has become a focal point of the confrontation.
A Proposed Framework for the Strait
According to Qatar’s foreign ministry, the two officials discussed a proposed phased framework aimed at easing tensions in the vital waterway. The plan includes establishing a temporary joint Iranian-Omani shipping corridor through the strait and launching a cooperative effort to clear mines from the route.
The discussions also touched on broader regional developments and efforts to create conditions for dialogue, the ministry said. Qatar has long positioned itself as a back-channel negotiator and played a direct part in securing a June ceasefire that briefly halted hostilities between the US and Iran.
That memorandum of understanding collapsed in part over disagreements concerning the strait, where pre-war traffic stood at approximately 20 million barrels of crude oil per day.
“All-Out Economic War”
Although the military strikes have ceased, Washington is now turning to economic tools. The US has announced plans to increase sanctions in an effort to isolate Iran from its trading partners entirely.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf on Thursday called for national unity, warning that internal division was “exactly what the enemy wants.” Ebrahim Azizi, who heads the Iranian parliament’s national security committee, labelled the sanctions an “inhumane and hostile act,” though he added that such measures had lost their effectiveness. Tehran has operated under various forms of US sanctions since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Meanwhile, oil prices climbed again on Thursday. Brent crude futures rose 0.6 per cent to US$88.35 a barrel as traders weighed the possibility of renewed supply from the Middle East.
Shipping Disruptions Mount
Hormuz oil flows have dropped to a three-month low, with just five million barrels per day transiting on Monday, according to ship-tracking data. The International Maritime Organization has recorded 70 incidents in the strait since the war began on 28 February, resulting in 19 seafarer deaths.
An unidentified projectile struck a tanker in the strait on Tuesday, sparking a fire that was later extinguished. All crew members were safe, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency.
Iran has clung to its control of the waterway as both leverage and a revenue source, seeking to charge passing ships a commission, a practice the US has opposed.
Conflicting Signals from Tehran
In a further complication, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday that Tehran and Muscat had agreed on how to share the waterway and its revenues. But a senior Iranian source later clarified that the two countries were still working through the details.
Brigadier General Hossein Mohebbi, a spokesperson for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, insisted Iran and Oman had “reached results that are acceptable to both sides.” The anonymous Iranian source, however, told Reuters that “an agreement with Oman over the Strait of Hormuz has not been finalized” and that negotiations were ongoing.
Mohebbi added that the strait would remain shut unless Washington met Tehran’s conditions under the interim ceasefire signed in June before it unravelled. Those demands include an end to the US blockade on Iranian ports, financial compensation and the lifting of sanctions.
Why it Matters
With the Strait of Hormuz carrying a fraction of its pre-war oil volumes and diplomatic channels faltering, the stakes extend well beyond the Middle East. North American markets remain highly sensitive to disruptions in the region, and any sustained closure or attack on shipping infrastructure could send fuel prices sharply higher, squeezing consumers and businesses alike. Qatar’s intervention offers a sliver of hope for de-escalation, but with Iran and the US still far apart on sanctions, blockade conditions and revenue-sharing arrangements, the path to stability remains uncertain, and the world’s energy supply hangs in the balance.