The emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani will visit Tehran in coming days, the Hezbollah-affilaited Al-Mayadeen News reported, a couple of weeks after Doha expressed preparedness to mediate talks between Iran and the United States.
Iran's former ambassador to Doha Hamid Dehghani on Sunday described the emir's visit as "very important".
"The visit of Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to Tehran at this stage, and his discussions with our country's officials regarding bilateral relations, regional and global developments, especially consultations on the issue of Palestine, are considered highly significant," Dehghani said in a post on his X account.
On February 5, the Qatari foreign ministry spokesman told Fox News the Arab country was prepared to serve as a mediator between Tehran and Washington in settling the crisis over Iran's disputed nuclear program, as it did in the past.
“It is through mediation and through the negotiations that we have done this in the past,” Majed Al-Ansari said. “And we had been even during the first Trump administration working with the administration over getting an arrangement with Iran."
“We are hopeful that we can be instrumental for the United States with this,” the diplomat added.
On Sunday, US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz said President Donald Trump is willing to engage in talks with Iran only on condition that Tehran fully abandon its nuclear program.
"The President has also expressed a willingness to take whatever action is necessary. All options are on the table," Waltz told Fox News on Sunday, leaving the option of diplomatic channels open.
Trump's state secretary Marco Rubio told CBS later in the day that the US administration does not "have any outreach from Iran."
"Ideally, yeah, I would love to wake up one day and hear the news that Iran has decided not to pursue a nuclear weapon, not to sponsor terrorism, and re-engage in the world as a normal government. We've had no indication of any of that, not just now, but for 30 years," he said.
Rubio said: "Behind every terrorist group, behind every act of violence, behind every destabilizing activity, behind everything that threatens peace and stability for the millions of people that call this region home is Iran.
"And by Iran I mean the ayatollahs, by Iran I mean its regime, a regime who by the way, its people don’t support. The people of Iran are victims of that regime."
Netanyahu, who has long campaigned for harsher policies on Iran from global powers, warning of the threat the country's nuclear program poses to the region, welcomed the comments which echo his own years-long campaign against Tehran.
“Israel and America stand shoulder to shoulder in countering the threat of Iran," he said. "We agree that the ayatollahs must not be allowed to have nuclear weapons. We also agreed that Iran’s aggression in the region has to be rolled back.”
Addressing the Gaza war against Iran-backed militants, Hamas, Netanyahu said Israel had dealt a significant blow to Tehran over the past 16 months, adding that with the support of Trump, "I have no doubt we can and will finish the job".
He also said Israel had weakened the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement in southern Lebanon and had hit hundreds of targets in Syria to prevent a new Iranian-backed front opening up against Israel.
"Now, if any other force believes that Israel will permit other hostile forces to use Syria as a base of operations against us, they are gravely mistaken," Netanyahu said.
