Qatar's prime minister made an unscheduled stop at the G7 foreign ministers' meeting in Paris on Tuesday to brief European powers on his White House talks with President Donald Trump about the Iran war — hours after Houthi missiles fired toward the Saudi capital Riyadh were intercepted overnight.
The flurry of diplomacy and the overnight attacks underline how fast the crisis is moving, even as Trump has said for now that new US strikes on Iran are "not necessary" and the naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz stays in place.
Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani in January 2024. Photo: UK Government / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).
An unscheduled stop in Paris
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, who also serves as Qatar's foreign minister, was scheduled to meet the ministers of Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Saudi Arabia, who had already been invited to the broader G7 talks on the situation in the Middle East, Reuters reported.
"On this occasion, the ministers will discuss the situation in the Near and Middle East — in particular the Iranian crisis and its security and economic repercussions, both for the region and for the international community as a whole," France's foreign ministry said in a statement.
The G7 foreign ministers began their two-day meeting in Paris on Monday, and were turning their attention to Ukraine on Tuesday, with Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha joining the talks. The Qatari prime minister's stop adds the Iran crisis to an already crowded agenda.
What happened in Washington
The Qatari leader held closed-door talks with Trump at the White House on Monday, a meeting that lasted just under an hour, and also met Vice President JD Vance. Qatar has played a central role as the intermediary between Washington and Tehran, carrying proposals back and forth as the two sides try to bridge deep differences over Iran's nuclear programme and the terms for ending a war that began in late February.
After the meeting, Trump told reporters that military action against Iran did not currently seem necessary. "Iran militarily is effectively over," he said, while adding that the United States was "locked and loaded, ready to go for any reason that changes." He said the naval blockade would continue, describing it as "the greatest military blockade ever."
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking before departing for the G7 meeting, lowered expectations of an imminent deal, saying he would not describe the two sides as "on the verge of a breakthrough" and calling some of Iran's demands "outrageous and ridiculous."
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday that Tehran had formally submitted a seven-day roadmap to end the war and was awaiting Washington's response, adding that he hoped to receive a final answer by Tuesday. Iranian officials have said their conditions include the release of billions of dollars in frozen assets held in overseas banks and relief from US sanctions.
Middle East Eye reported on Monday that Qatar would host Vice President Vance and Mohsen Rezaei, the hard-line secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, for talks next week. A senior Iranian official denied there were plans for such a meeting, according to state broadcaster Press TV.
Missiles over Riyadh overnight
While the diplomacy continued, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said on Tuesday it had intercepted two missiles launched by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis toward Riyadh — a ballistic missile and a cruise missile — along with a ballistic missile fired toward the kingdom's southern region and a drone over its oil-rich Eastern Province.
Saudi Civil Defence had earlier issued an early-warning alert for Riyadh before later saying the threat had passed. Reporters for Agence France-Presse heard multiple explosions in the capital, and schools in Riyadh moved to online classes as the attacks stepped up.
The Houthis claimed responsibility, saying they carried out four military operations using ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones, and asserting that they targeted the financial district in Riyadh, Riyadh airport and oil facilities. The Houthi-run Saba news agency reported that Saudi Arabia carried out airstrikes on the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa in response.
The launches come amid weeks of escalating hostilities between the Houthis and the coalition backing Yemen's internationally recognised government, after the group advanced in September toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a chokepoint for global shipping.
Diplomacy's narrow window
Trump said on Monday he plans to hold off on fresh strikes against Iran for the time being after appeals from countries in the region, including from Qatar's prime minister in the White House talks. Oil prices fell sharply on the news, easing immediate fears of energy-driven inflation.
The Qatari prime minister's unscheduled briefing of European allies now tests whether that diplomatic opening can produce a deal — or whether the stalled talks and the widening regional attacks give way to a renewed bombing campaign.
Sources: Reuters; Agence France-Presse; The Nation.