Qatar says efforts under way to end Iran-US war and reopen Strait of Hormuz

Qatar accuses Israel of exploiting Regional Conflicts to impose new realities in Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria.Qatar is holding talks with Oman and Pakistan to de-escalate tensions in the region, the country’s Foreign Ministry has said, after a recent flare-up in fighting between the US and Iran.Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari warned on Tuesday against normalising the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, where the war between Iran and the US has seen shipping in the waterway grind almost to a halt.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3US-Israel war on Iran, six months down the line: In numberslist 2 of 3Israeli forces raze West Bank homes as EU weighs ban on settlement goodslist 3 of 3Israeli strikes on Gaza kill at least five, including childrenend of list“We said from the start, any attempt to normalise the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in this way will end with regional escalation, and this is what we saw yesterday and today,” Al-Ansari said in the press conference.“Escalation does not benefit anyone, and we are all negatively impacted by the escalation. We encourage all sides to be wise and return to negotiations.”Around 25 percent of the world’s seaborne trade passed through the strait before Israel and the US launched a war on Iran on February 28, reducing traffic in the waterway to a trickle.The US has enforced a blockade on Iranian ports, while Iran has been accused of laying mines and attacking tankers in the waterway. Energy prices have since skyrocketed, affecting economies across the world.Iran and Oman have held talks on opening a temporary route through the Strait of Hormuz, but Tehran wants the US to first return to a memorandum of understanding agreed in June.Qatar, which has been economically impacted by the war, has encouraged a peaceful resolution to the crisis and is in contact with regional leaders to encourage dialogue, Al-Ansari said.