TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told former UN secretary general Kofi Annan on Tuesday that Iran will send food to besieged Qatar.

On June 5, Saudi Arabia along with the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt cut ties with Qatar and introduced sanctions on the country for its relations with the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain also closed their air, sea, and land routes to the country.

Qatar imports about 40 percent of its food from Saudi Arabia, the only country that has land border with Qatar.

Iran has been sending five cargoes of food products to Qatar in recent days.

According to Iran Air spokesman Shahrokh Nooshabadi the cargos each weighing 90 tons contained perishable products.

“We will continue sending such cargos while there is still request from the Qatari side,” the official said.

Three ships loaded with 350 tons of fruit and vegetables were also set to leave an Iranian port for Qatar, the Tasnim news agency quoted a local official as saying.

Since the blockade of the tiny Arab country, Kuwaiti and Pakistani leaders have visited Saudi Arabia to calm down the tension.

‘All will be losers’

Zarif who held talks with Annan on the sidelines of the Oslo Forum in Norway also discussed the latest developments in the Middle East region especially the Qatar row and the Syrian conflict.

Annan said that all will be “losers” if the regional situation worsen.

NA/PA