Doha

Sheikh Hamad was the primary architect of modern state-sponsored Islamism, and a ruthless strategist who weaponized unimaginable energy wealth to institutionalize a toxic double game...

In many ways, the era that the former emir presided over was a very different Middle East. Against the grain of the time, he was able to position Qatar as a key state in the region.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, told Iranian state media that talks included an initial meeting of a monitoring group to ensure implementation of the recently signed US-Iran MoU.

“I would say that the primary reason Iran has decided to renew attacks on the Persian Gulf states has to do with the balance of leverage in the ongoing negotiations," one expert says.

Iranian and US technical teams working on implementing a memorandum of understanding are set to meet in Doha in the coming days.

According to a Qatari report, the talk of an approaching agreement between Washington and Tehran was accompanied by a media campaign against Qatar.

Gulf leaders are using their growing influence in Washington to press President Trump away from Netanyahu’s war footing and toward a regional settlement tied to the Palestinian issue.

Internal evidence – such as that provided by Suzan Quitaz, one of the coauthors of this article – could shed light on how Qatar's coordination mechanism actually operates behind the scenes.

During the war, Qatar faced around 700 Iranian missile and drone attacks targeting US bases on its territory. Although no civilian casualties were reported, its economy faced devastating impacts.

In four weeks of conflict, Iran has launched thousands of rockets and drones at the Gulf states, the UAE being the one targeted the most.