Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif welcomed a call by his Qatari counterpart for negotiations between Tehran and Persian Gulf Arab states in order to patch up their differences.







“Iran welcomes my brother FM @MBA_AlThani_'s call for inclusive dialogue in our region,” Zarif tweeted late on Tuesday in Persian, Arabic and English languages.

“As we have consistently emphasized, the solution to our challenges lies in collaboration to jointly form a 'strong region': peaceful, stable, prosperous and free from global or regional hegemony,” the top diplomat added.



Zarif’s tweet followed a call by Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) member states to enter negotiations with neighboring Iran in order to resolve their differences.

Al Thani said on Tuesday the time was right for Doha to broker such talks, and that he has long called for a summit between leaders of the six-member council and Iranian officials.

He said his government was “hopeful that this would happen and we still believe this should happen,” noting that this is also a desire that’s shared by other PGCC countries.

Back on December 23 last year, the Qatari foreign minister called for a de-escalation of tensions in the Persian Gulf region and for dialogue between Arab countries and Iran.