Despite mounting pressure by Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies on Qatar to scale down its Iran contacts, a top Qatari lawmaker said Doha welcomes broader relations with Tehran.
“We are glad that Tehran and Doha have friendly and brotherly ties based on good neighborliness and we should try to expand those relations,” Speaker of Qatar’s Advisory Council Ahmed bin Abdullah al-Mahmoud said in a meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in Tehran on Tuesday, ISNA reported.
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Egypt have boycotted Qatar since early June over its cordial relations with Tehran and backing for groups they regard as terrorist, among other things.
Rouhani reaffirmed the Islamic Republic’s support for the tiny Arab state in the face of the ongoing blockade by the Arab quartet.
“Iran is ready for closer cooperation with the Qatari government and nation and will not allow people of this Muslim country to remain subjected to cruel, unfair pressure,” the president said.
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