Qatar’s foreign minister, Mohammad bin Abdullahman al-Thani, spoke out on May 1, criticizing the U.S. attempt to “clean up” Iranian crude oil exports, in public opposition to this ally.
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Qatar’s Foreign Minister, as the host of the Asian Cooperation Dialogue held in Doha, said that the unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States on Iran were “unwise” because they would adversely affect importers benefiting from Iranian crude oil.
He said: “The crisis must be resolved through dialogue and only through dialogue. We believe that unilateral sanctions will not have a positive effect.”
The United States withdrew from the comprehensive agreement on Iran’s nuclear issue last May and resumed sanctions against Iran in two batches in August and November of the same year in an attempt to block Iranian crude oil exports, but in November it granted eight Iranian crude oil importers a six-month exemption from sanctions. The exemption expired on May 1 this year, and the United States decided not to renew it.
The risk of “zero” Iranian crude oil exports has triggered concerns in the international crude oil market, boosting oil prices. The United States says it is coordinating with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the major oil producers, to ensure adequate supply of crude oil.
As a Gulf country, Qatar produces only a small amount of crude oil, about 600,000 barrels a day, but its natural gas production is high, making it the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas; its natural gas reserves account for 13% of the world’s total reserves, second only to Russia and Iran.
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Qatar officially withdrew from OPEC, the Saudi-led Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, on January 1 this year. Qatar claims that the reason for “withdrawal” is “irrelevant to politics”, but “it wants to concentrate on natural gas exploitation”.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed diplomatic relations with Qatar in June 2017 and imposed sanctions and blockades on it. The four countries designated Qatar as “supporting terrorism”, “undermining regional security” and turning to Iran. Qatar denies these allegations. The crisis of severance of diplomatic relations has continued to this day, and the good offices of the United States and Kuwait have failed many times.
Officials from Saudi Arabia and Bahrain attended the Asian Cooperation Dialogue on the 1st. According to Reuters, this is the first time that the two countries have sent officials to a meeting in Qatar since the break-up of diplomatic relations.
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Qatar’s foreign minister told Reuters that Saudi and Bahraini officials’participation in the meeting was “limited” and that Qatar’s relations with the two countries showed no signs of thawing.
Qatar is one of the most important allies of the United States in the Gulf. The Udaid Air Force Base in the southwestern part of Qatar is the largest air base in the Middle East. Qatar is closer to Iran, having previously announced the full resumption of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Qatar has repeatedly expressed its willingness to help the United States mediate with Iran.
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