Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei met the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Tehran on February 19. This is an important meeting and reflects the growing ties between Iran and Qatar.
The two countries have often had good relations, however this is even more important as Iran is slightly weaker today than a year ago and Doha continues to back Hamas. Iran also backs Hamas but Doha and Ankara will likely position themselves now as the main Hamas backers. Iran will want to coordinate strategy on these issues and others.
Khamenei expanding ties with neighboring countries
Iranian state media IRNA said that the “leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has said expanding ties with neighboring countries remains the “definite policy” of the Islamic Republic, as he received Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Tehran.”
Qatar’s leader also met with Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian before meeting Ayatollah Khamenei. “One of the policies announced by the administration of Mr. Pezeshkian is the expansion of ties with neighbors,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.
Iran is seeking to expand its diplomat footprint in recent years. It has done so at the expense of Israel in some cases. Now, with the new Trump administration, Iran will want to see if it can do a deal with Washington. Other countries in the region have close ties to Iran. Iraq’s Falih al-Fayyadh, the head of the pro-Iran Popular Mobilization Units, was also in Tehran this week. Iran considers Doha a “friendly and brotherly country.”
The report noted that “approximately $6 billion in Iranian funds remain frozen under US sanctions and are currently held in a Qatari bank after being released by South Korea in September 2023.” Iran says the US is the main obstacle to releasing the funds. IRNA noted that “Iran expects Qatar to resist pressure from Washington and return Iran’s assets.”
Reports in Iran were light on other specifics such as the claims the two countries would continue to back the Palestinians. “The Emir also referred to the agreements reached between Iran and Qatar, and said the two countries will soon establish a joint commission to increase the volume of bilateral trade,” the report noted.