Qatar, Iran discuss war and Hormuz in Moscow meeting as another ship struck in Strait

Qatar's emir and Iran's president discussed the Middle East war and the blockaded Strait of Hormuz in Moscow, Doha said Tuesday, as a Qatari official said the onus is on Tehran to "demonstrate good faith" and reopen the strait. Iran's army said an oil tanker that switched off its tracking systems struck naval mines and caught fire in the strait.

Qatar's ruler and Iran's president discussed the Middle East war and the blockaded Strait of Hormuz at a meeting in Moscow, the emir's office said Tuesday. Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian met on the sidelines of a summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum in Moscow; Pezeshkian was also due to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin later in the day. The meeting came a day after senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan held talks with Iran in Tehran aimed at stopping the Middle East war from reigniting. On Sunday a Qatari delegation visited Tehran and reviewed "developments in the regional situation, foremost among them the latest on the negotiations, the Strait of Hormuz, and energy supplies," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said. Qatari foreign ministry official Ibrahim Al-Hashmi said the region needed a new security framework to prevent further violence. "The ball is now in Iran's court to commit to these principles and demonstrate good faith," he said, adding that Tehran still needed to "stop threatening countries of the region, and reopen the Strait of Hormuz." Iranian Security Council chief Mohsen Rezaei met Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, not seen in public since succeeding his slain father in March, a day after talks with representatives of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan. State media said Khamenei stressed pursuing Iran's interests and maintaining its conditions for ending the war, including "maintaining control over the Strait of Hormuz." In Riyadh, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman chaired a meeting reviewing the Tehran talks with the so-called Mecca alliance. Iran's army said an oil tanker that switched off its tracking systems struck naval mines and caught fire while trying to cross the Strait of Hormuz by an unauthorized route. Iran claims control over the strait and has targeted vessels crossing without its authorization since the war began on February 28.