TEHRAN – Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad bin Abdul Rahman has once again called for reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, describing it as a pillar of peace and security in the West Asia region. 

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, who is also Deputy Prime Minister of Qatar, said that Doha is talking with Tehran and Washington in order to find common ground to return to the Vienna negotiations.

In remarks to Al Jazeera, the Qatari foreign minister pointed out that his talks in Washington with his American counterpart Tony Blinken dealt with a number of regional and global issues, including Iran and Afghanistan, in addition to the Palestinian issue and the world's food and energy crises.

He indicated that the Vienna talks have not failed, and that Qatar's contacts with Iran are not a substitute for them, but rather a helpful factor.

The chief diplomat noted that he discussed with Blinken the Vienna negotiations and the prospect of reaching an agreement.

The Qatari foreign minister stressed that Doha wants the parties to return to the nuclear agreement because it constitutes a fundamental pillar of security and peace in the region, underlining that the nuclear agreement will open up prospects for broader regional cooperation and dialogue with Iran.

Earlier, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani had said that the Qatari side had held extensive discussions with Iran, and that Doha had expressed its willingness to help and support any agreement between Iran and Western countries within the framework of the negotiations in Vienna.

Iran and the remaining parties to the 2015 nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), have been negotiating a return to the tattered pact ever since April 2021. The talks have come to a standstill more than three months over a range of issues, including U.S. indecision about removing the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) from its terrorism blacklist.

In late May, the Qatari foreign minister spoke over the phone with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir Abdollahian.

Qatar has been conveying messages between Iran and the U.S. in parallel with the Vienna talks, which are now overshadowed by a Western decision to get the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors to issue a censure resolution against Iran on the grounds that Iran allegedly failed to provide credible answers to questions raised by the IAEA.