Qatar Prime Minister Heads to Tehran to Revive US-Iran Mediation as War Nears Sixth Month Without Diplomatic Breakthrough

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who also serves as foreign minister, is due to visit Tehran on Thursday to meet Iranian officials on de-escalation, according to Qatar's Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari 12. The visit follows the collapse in July of a June memorandum of understanding that had briefly paused US-Israel military action against Iran, and comes as the conflict nears six months with fighting largely halted but no diplomatic breakthrough 13. Iran's Foreign Ministry confirmed the visit will also cover the Strait of Hormuz, where transiting oil flows have fallen to a three-month low of 5 million barrels per day versus roughly 20 million bpd before the war, and where a tanker was struck by an "unknown projectile" near Oman's coast this week 34. Iran's IRGC said separate talks with Oman had reached results "acceptable to both sides" on a temporary shipping arrangement through the strait, though a senior Iranian source cautioned no final agreement had been reached, and the strait has recorded 70 maritime incidents and 19 seafarer deaths since the war began February 28 34. President Trump told Al Jazeera on Wednesday he is in "no hurry" to resume talks with Tehran, while Iran's foreign minister called new US sanctions "economic terrorism" in a letter to the UN 1. The Qatari visit follows separate mediation trips to Tehran this week by Oman's foreign minister and Pakistan's army chief 12.