Iran confirms Qatar Emir's upcoming visit

Iran’s foreign ministry this week confirmed the upcoming visit of Qatar’s Emir to Tehran to discuss key issues. The trip also comes as Qatar reportedly looks to provide a middle ground between Iran and the West to revive the 2015 nuclear deal.

Reuters reports Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh Monday confirmed the upcoming visit of the Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani in a news conference. No specific date was disclosed.

“The visit of the Emir of Qatar to Tehran is on the agenda and includes bilateral, regional, and international issues. After this trip, Iran’s President will travel to a Gulf country,” said Khatibzadeh during a news conference this week.

This follows another report by the outlet Sunday that the Qatari Emir will be visiting Tehran before traveling to Germany, the United Kingdom, and other European countries. The efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear deal along with energy security in Europe are said to be on the agenda of the Emir’s visit to Europe, according to a source.

The source also said the Emir’s trip will look to bring a middle ground for all parties involved in the 2015 nuclear deal, which the US withdrew from in 2018 but looks to return under President Joe Biden. This also follows the stalled indirect talks between Tehran and Washington over Iran’s demand that its Revolutionary Guard be removed from the “foreign terrorist organization” designation.

Iranian state media outlets also reported that the Emir’s trip was also meant to follow up on the agreement made with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Doha back in February.

Previously, the Swedish foreign ministry announced Friday last week that Iran has detained a Swedish national, days after the country advised against unnecessary travel to Iran, citing security reasons. This is the latest strain on relations between the two countries.

This follows the trial of a former Iranian official in Sweden on charges of war crimes related to the mass execution and torture of political prisoners at an Iranian prison facility back in the 1980s. The trial ended Wednesday last week, with the verdict expected in July.