Qatar pledges support to ease hardships facing Iranian people

Qatar pledged on Thursday to provide all possible assistance to alleviate the hardships facing the Iranian people, according to Iranian media.

“Qatar does not want the Iranian people to face difficulties while the countries of the region merely watch,” Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said during a meeting with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

“We will provide any assistance possible to alleviate the hardships of the brotherly Iranian people,” Iran’s Tasnim news agency quoted him as saying.

Sheikh Mohammed said Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani regards Pezeshkian “as a brother,” and that “deep and sincere respect” remains between the two countries despite recent events.

He said Doha is seeking to restore stability in the region and recognizes Iran’s outreach to regional countries and its efforts to promote security and calm.

“We hope that, through the continuation of this approach, the challenges ahead will be resolved,” he added.

Addressing the issue of Iranian pilots, claimed to have been captured by Doha, the Qatari premier said the matters would be pursued sincerely.

The visit to Tehran by Sheikh Mohammed, who is also Qatar’s foreign minister, came as Doha continued efforts to de-escalate tensions between Iran and the US.

The visit marks the Qatari foreign minister’s first trip to Iran since the conflict began with US and Israeli strikes in late February.

The US and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding in June following mediation by Pakistan and Qatar, but its implementation has stalled amid differences over navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a ⁠fifth of global oil supplies flowed before the war.

Iran had targeted the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar that hosts US military forces in June 2025, during the 12-day war with Israel, and also launched retaliatory attacks on several Gulf countries including Qatar after US-Israeli attacks this year.