TEHRAN – The foreign ministers of Iran and Qatar held a phone conversation on Saturday during which they exchanged views on issues on mutual interest, including the situation around the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

The latest developments related to the relations between the two countries in the field of bilateral relations in various political, economic and consular sectors were the most important focus of the telephone conversation, according to the Iranian foreign ministry. 

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammad Abdulrahman Al-Thani have been in close contact ever since Qatar hosted the last round of indirect talks between Iran and the United States. 

Amir Abdollahian consulted and exchanged opinions with his Qatari counterpart, considering the previous talks between the officials of the two countries regarding the important event of the World Cup in Qatar and the fields of cooperation in this regard.

In the telephone conversation, Amir Abdollahian also referred to the sanctions removal talks and emphasized the will of the Iranian government to reach a good, strong and lasting agreement.

The foreign minister of Qatar, while attaching importance to consultations regarding relations between the two countries, emphasized Doha’s full readiness to cooperate with Iran in holding the World Cup.

Referring to the logical positions of Tehran in the nuclear talks, he called it important to continue the dialogue to lift the sanctions, according to the Iranian foreign ministry. 

Earlier, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar announced the call and said that the negotiations on the lifting of sanctions and developments in the region were among the main points of the conversation.

This is the second phone conversation between the foreign ministers of Qatar and Iran in less than two weeks. The last call was held on July 21 on which the two top diplomats exchanged views on the latest developments regarding the sanctions removal talks.

The Iranian foreign minister reaffirmed the Iranian government’s determination to reach a good, robust and lasting deal and underlined the necessity of avoiding excessive demands on the part of the U.S. Amir Abdollahian urged the other side to act realistically to reach an agreement.

Sheikh Mohammad also paid attention to Iran’s logical stance during the telephone conversation.

Amir Abdollahian have been in touch with the key mediators in the nuclear talks, including European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. 

Last week, Amir Abdollahian and Borrell spoke over the phone about the 2015 nuclear deal. 

In the conversation, Amir Abdollahian thanked Borrell and his deputy Enrique Mora for their efforts and said “there is no doubt that Iran is determined to reach a good, robust and lasting deal.”

He said if the U.S. moves realistically toward finding a solution and reaching a deal, a good agreement will be at hand for all parties.

Amir Abdollahian said the Islamic republic has shown good faith and serious determination to reach a deal since the start of the talks.

He further referred to a draft proposed recently by Borrell, underscoring that Iran welcomes the continuation of diplomacy and talks.

The Iranian foreign minister said the U.S. has always claimed that it wants a deal, so this must exist in the wording of the agreement and also in practice.

Borrell, for his part, said the Iranian side has so far shown positive and serious determination during the negotiations and time is now that the talks produce good results.

Borrell once again declared that he and his deputy are ready to facilitate and speed up this trend through communications and consultations with all parties.

Amir Abdollahian and Borrell exchanged views about how to move forward.