JAKARTA - Qatar insists it cannot accept Iran's plan to charge ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz. Doha also said Iran's proposed reconstruction fund of US$300 billion was still an aspirational figure.
Launching Anadolu Agency which quoted an interview with the Financial Times, quoted Wednesday, June 24, the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Qatar Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said this in an interview published Wednesday.
According to Sheikh Mohammed, the Gulf countries could play a role in funding if Iran reached a final settlement with the United States. However, he did not explain whether Qatar would participate in funding.
"Our goal is for Iran to develop and its economy to grow. Our investment is basically always purely based on commercial decisions," Sheikh Mohammed said.
The proposed funds are related to Article 6 of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding between the US and Iran to end hostilities in the region. In the document, the US along with its regional partners committed to establishing a program worth at least 300 billion US dollars for reconstruction and economic development in Iran.
The mechanism for implementing the program will be finalized in a final agreement within 60 days. The US is also said to provide the necessary approvals, exemptions, and permits for related financial transactions.
The note also includes lifting the US naval blockade of Iran and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, an important route for world energy supplies.
It is at this point that Qatar has taken a hard line. Sheikh Mohammed refused that the important sea route was controlled by one party. He also rejected Iran's plan to charge for shipping.
"We cannot accept a situation or condition when our gateway to the world is controlled," he said.
According to Sheikh Mohammed, this is contrary to international protocols. For Qatar, the Strait of Hormuz is the only sea corridor to the world.
Sheikh Mohammed said ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz should return to pre-war levels on the 30th day after the note came into effect. However, he acknowledged that normalization could not happen in one day.
He also warned that the impact of the war on the global economy would take time to repair, even if the strait was fully opened. Shortages of essential goods such as fertilizer, urea, and petrochemicals are expected to be felt in the next few months.
Sheikh Mohammed said the strait remained open. The mediators, he said, had checked with Iranian officials and received an answer that there was no order to close the route.
He stressed the importance of a direct communication line between Washington and Tehran. The hotline, or emergency communication line, agreed to in talks in Switzerland is considered important to prevent disinformation and ensure coordination, including if there are mine clearance operations.
For the long term, Sheikh Mohammed said the Gulf region needs a new security framework involving regional countries and Iran.
Regarding Lebanon, he said the US and Iran had agreed on a de-escalation mechanism, namely arrangements to prevent widespread clashes, to stop the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
One of the important elements is the verification of the ceasefire violations by the Lebanese government, the US Central Command, Iran, and the mediators.
Sheikh Mohammed also assessed that the Israeli government actually increased the conflict, not easing it.
Although the memorandum of understanding regulates the cessation of hostilities in Lebanon, Israel is still continuing the attacks that began on March 2. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, the attacks have killed 4,192 people and displaced more than one million people.
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