Qatar calls for nuclear deal with Iran

Qatar called for a nuclear agreement with Iran on Saturday, saying it would increase security and stability in the region.

"We believe in diplomatic solutions to maintain global security and the resolving of crises through dialogue and diplomacy," Qatar's Foreign Minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, stated while speaking at the Doha Forum international conference.

Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia started talks with Iran in late November in Vienna to revive a 2015 agreement on Iran's nuclear program. It aimed to limit Iran’s enrichment of uranium to make it harder for Tehran to develop nuclear weapons, in return for a lifting of international sanctions against Tehran.

But the deal, known as the JCPOA or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, suddenly collapsed in 2018 when then-US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States' participation and re-imposed heavy sanctions on Iran.

A new deal was close to being finalised last month but progress has been stalled by the war in Ukraine. Russia requested guarantees from the US that Western sanctions targeting Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine would not affect its business with Iran.

The United States have also been involved in informal negotiations with Iran, facilitated by other JCPOA members, since April 2021. 

The 20th edition of the Doha Forum started on Saturday in the Qatari capital. The two-day event usually gathers diplomats, international NGOs, business leaders, activists and academia.