Qatar’s ruler, Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, said during a visit to Iran on Sunday that de-escalation and dialogue were needed to resolve regional crises at a “sensitive” time.
The emir, who has allied with Iran, was speaking in a televised news conference with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani during a visit to Tehran after Iran-backed militia launched a series of attacks on US bases in Iraq and Iran shot down a civilian aircraft, killing 176 people.
Sheikh Tamim thanked Iran, with which his country shares a giant gas field, for supporting Doha by providing air and land routes after the Arab Quartet imposed a trade and transport boycott on Qatar in mid-2017 due to its support of terrorist and extremist networks around the Middle East.
