Qatar-Iran meeting focused on Israeli ‘aggression’ in Gaza, Lebanon
Qatar’s emir met Iran’s president in Doha where the discussions focused on Gaza and Lebanon, the two officials said in a joint briefing.
The Emir of Qatar said:
- Israel’s attacks “places the entire region on the verge of mayhem and widens the circle of violence at a time when Qatar is calling on the international community to live up to its responsibility by way of acting to pressure Israel to put an end to its malicious aggression on the Gaza Strip and Lebanon”.
- Qatar warned of the escalation in Lebanon since the start of the war in Gaza.
- Qatar has been working to contain the conflict and reach a ceasefire – and will continue to mediate to reach that end. De-escalation can be reached only when Israel’s attacks on Gaza and Lebanon come to a halt.
Iran doesn’t want war but will respond if Israel acts: President Pezeshkian
Iran’s President Pezeshkian said that Tehran “is not looking for war but looking forward to peace and calm”, adding that “Israel is forcing us to react”.
In a joint news conference with Qatar’s emir in Doha, Pezeshkian said that Israel assassinated Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31 and Iran was asked to hold back.
“We were asked to maintain calm. For the sake of peace, we have maintained self-restraint,” he said.
“If [Israel] acts, we will react more fiercely and harshly. The ominous goals of the Zionist entity are all aimed at destabilising the region. We should work together to steer the region away from all this.”
Iran felt duped by the international community
Iran’s president, who’s only been in office for about two months, was elected on a policy of being a moderate and wanting outreach and better relations with the world. He made it clear in that briefing that he’s been talking about peace and calm in every single speech that he’s made.
But he said Israel has forced Iran’s hand by its actions and talked about their guest in Tehran, Ismail Haniyeh, the former head of Hamas who was assassinated in Tehran having just attended the president’s inauguration.
He said that after the killing, that they got pressured into not responding and they had shown restraint because they had been told that that would be in the offing of a ceasefire in Gaza.
He’s made it clear in other comments he’s made that they feel that they were duped by the international community by doing that, and he says that given the recent events, there was no other thing for Iran to do other than take the action that it did.
GCC condemns escalation in Lebanon, Palestinian territories
The Gulf Cooperation Council has issued a statement after a meeting in Qatar.
Here are the main talking points:
- The group condemned the escalation in the Lebanese and Palestinian territories and “warned of the serious repercussions of this escalation”.
- It called on all parties to exercise self-restraint.
- It stressed the need to implement the UNSC Resolution 1701 to restore stability along southern Lebanon’s border.
- The Council reaffirmed its support for a 21-day ceasefire plan between Israel and Hezbollah put forward by the US and a number of other countries last week.
- It called for an “immediate and permanent” ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all captives and detainees, while it stressed the importance of opening crossings to allow humanitarian aid into the Strip.
