Alwaght- Diplomatic visits of senior officials of countries play a substantial role in boosting bilateral ties, contribute to advancing common interests, and bring closer the views of countries on various cases.
In this relation, constant diplomatic visits of top Iranian and Qatar officials or meetings in regional and international conferences have set a perfect example of friendly and neighborly relations in West Asia.
After Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian visited Qatar in September to join Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD), now the emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamas Al Thani visited Tehran to further shore up ties with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Over the past years, relations between Tehran and Doha have suffered the least damage from the US and Israeli regime's provocative plans to disrupt the neighborly relations between the (Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council member states and Iran, and the two countries have had good and diverse relations in the political, economic, and security spheres. These relations have reached a new level of cooperation, especially after regional crises, such as the 2017 Gulf crisis and regional wars, especially since Qatar has been able to play the role of a successful mediator in some of the most important regional cases related to the Axis of Resistance and Iran.
Prioritizing neighborly policy and making grounds for expansion of bilateral cooperation
Although the historical neighborly relations between Iran and Qatar have always suffered the least damage, even during some tense times between Iran and the Cooperation Council over the past four decades, the 2017 Saudi crisis with Qatar, which led to a blockade on the tiny Arab emirate, became a turning point in a upscale of political, security and economic relations of Tehran and Doha.
In the 2017 (P) GCC crisis, Iran came to the aid of Qatar against the blockading countries and, by providing basic needs, it provided the necessary breathing space for Doha to withstand the heavy Saudi-led pressure and force the blockaders to back down from their conditions.
In these circumstances, the increase in sanctions against Iran and the US's efforts to restrict foreign trade and cut off economic revenues caused Tehran, especially during the presidency of the late Iranian President Sayyed Ibrahim Raisi and the leadership of foreign policy by late Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian, to prioritize trade and economic partnerships with its neighbors. This policy, with the efforts of President Pezzekian and the welcome of the Qatari side, has provided the necessary basis for further strengthening relations between Tehran and Doha in all areas of interest, foremost among them economic cooperation.
In this regard, during the important meeting between the Qatari emir and the Leader of the Islamic Revolution of Iran on the first day of the emir's visit, the Leader emphasized that expanding relations with neighbors is a definite policy of the Islamic Republic.
"One of the declared policies of Mr. Pezhikian’s government is also expanding relations with neighbors, and by the grace of God, good work has been done in this regard and some progress has been made, and Mr. Araqchi, the esteemed Minister of Foreign Affairs, is active and dynamic in this area," the Leader said.
The Leader expressed hope that the agreements reached in Tehran will benefit both countries and that both sides will be able to fulfill their neighborly duties more than ever before.
Actually, the two countries are trying to make privileged political relations the basis for expanding other areas of cooperation to secure their interests.
Economic ties
In trade as a priority of cooperation, Iran and Qatar, as two bordering countries in the field of energy and trade, have always had stable and positive economic relations. In addition to oil and gas trade, Qatar also cooperates with Iran in other fields such as agriculture and commodity exports.
One of the expressions of the serious will of the parties to develop economic cooperation and activate all potential capacities has been the regular and periodic formation of the Economic Cooperation Commission of the two countries, of which ten rounds have been held so far. Investing in areas of interest to the parties, using the precious capacity of various levels of tourism (including marine tourism and developing tourism programs in coastal scenic spots as well as promoting medical tourism), activating and developing cooperation between chambers of commerce and free trade zones, holding specialized committees in various fields of trade, customs, culture, tourism and sports and youth, etc. are among the goals and subjects of the Joint Cooperation Commission of the two countries.
This has led to the expansion of business ties despite the Western sanctions, as stated by the Iranian Ambassador to Qatar: "According to the latest statistics of the Iranian customs, the value of trade exchanges between the two countries in the first 8 months of 1403 (the Persian year from March to November) exceeded $191 million, up 25 percent from same period last year. The most important export goods of Iran are agricultural products, vegetables, fruits, aquatic animals, construction materials, minerals, carpets, dried fruits, etc. On the other hand, during the same period, the imported items from Qatar have mainly been intermediate goods."
However, despite this growth, the volume of exchanges is still far from being proportional to the economic capacities of the two countries and the desired and targeted level. This issue seems to be on the agenda of the negotiations between the Qatari delegation and Iranian officials. In this regard, Sheikh Tamim said in a meeting with Pezhakian: "We will try to bring the interactions and exchanges of the two countries to the targeted level by holding joint economic cooperation commissions regularly."
Security and military relations
In security terms, Iran and Qatar, despite their differences on some regional issues and Qatar hosting the largest US military base in West Asia, have cooperated in areas such as shipping security in the Persian Gulf. Iran is considered the main axis of security in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, and in recent years, powerful maritime countries such as China and Russia have confirmed the stabilizing weight of the Islamic Republic of Iran's maritime power in one of the most important international energy and trade waterways by conducting joint naval exercises in the Sea of Oman under the title "Combined Maritime Security Belt."
Iran and Qatar have also cooperated on issues related to combating terrorism and common security threats. The two countries signed a defense cooperation agreement in 2009, and in recent years, the Qataris have invited Iranian arms companies to participate in international defense equipment exhibitions.
Role and influence of Iran and Qatar on regional peace and stability
Doha tendency to make a balance in the foreign policy in regional competitions has made Iran and Qatar leave an undeniable influence on management of tensions in the region on the one hand and on the other hand the mediatory role of Qatar has a special place in Iran's foreign policy.
Playing such a role over the past years has led to political and media speculations during the recent visit of the Qatari emir about the possibility of transmitting messages from some actors through the Qatar channel, which has not been officially confirmed by the officials of the two countries.
However, the confirmation of negotiations between the two sides on important regional and international issues during this visit can be effective in helping regional efforts to reach political solutions to many crises, and this is also indicated by Doha good relations with other regional allies of Tehran in the Axis of Resistance, including Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen.
Currently, one of the most important regional issues in the ceasefire of Gaza and Lebanon is ths implementation of the second phase of the ceasefire in Gaza, and the reconstruction of the coastal enclave that was razed to ground by Israeli regime. Both Iran and Qatar support the rights of the Palestinians and the resistance against the Israeli occupation and have close relations with Hamas. Qatar played a key role in brokering a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, and the country can also help Gaza by providing aids and assisting its rebuilding.
Qatar can also help develop and rebuild Lebanon and make diplomatic ground to for de-escalation in this country.
Although Iran and Qatar have different approaches to Lebanon, at the end of the road, both countries agree on the need to maintain Lebanon's stability, and their bilateral cooperation can be effective to this end.
Meanwhile, Syria crisis is one of the major challenges in relations between Tehran and Qatar. After fall of Iran-aligned Bashar al-Assad government, Qatar was the first to welcome new Damascus leaders. While Syria still has a long way to go before it can fully re-embrace stability amid widespread insecurity and Israeli and American occupation, some speculations suggest that Doha is seeing to establish contact channels to ease an atmosphere of hostility and distrust between new Syrian government and Tehran, especially in relation to cases pertaining to security of Syria and security concerns of its neighbors like Iraq and Lebanon.
