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Qatar Mediator Shows Its Value in Being Able to Talk to the US's Worst Enemies
The Guardian
|June 25, 2025
Caught in the crossfire, on Monday night Qatar found itself in the unusual position of being asked by the US to mediate to end a war where one of the two parties was firing missiles at it, but then there are few countries as multifaceted as Qatar, or few conflicts quite as tangled as the Iran-Israel war.
It seems Monday's heavily signaled Iranian attack on Qatar's 60-acre Al Udeid airbase may even have become the opening to resume diplomacy. The attack, which caused no casualties, cleared the ground for Trump and Qatar to work together to secure the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran.
It once again highlights Qatar's role as professional mediators - a bespoke service this tiny but massively wealthy country makes available from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Gaza.
Ever since Israel launched its attack on Iran 12 days ago, Qatar has been at the forefront of the countries denouncing Israel, saying it considered the assault "a blatant violation of Iran's sovereignty and security, as well as a clear breach of international law".
This story is from the June 25, 2025 edition of The Guardian.
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