TEHRAN – Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Ali Bagheri Kani held a meeting with Qatar’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Regional Affairs Mohammad bin Abdul Aziz al-Khulaifi and his accompanying delegation on Saturday evening.

The Iranian foreign ministry said the meeting focused on bilateral ties in addition to regional and international developments.

Bagheri Kani pointed to the incumbent Iranian administration’s successful one-year experience in pursuing the neighborly policy and said, “The second step in the neighborly policy is promoting multilateral and regional cooperation.”

The Iranian diplomat highlighted the rapid growth in the already-excellent Tehran-Doha relations, especially over the past year, saying, “We welcome Qatar’s effective role in advancing the second phase of Iran’s neighborly policy and bolstering multilateral regional cooperation.”

Elsewhere, the deputy foreign minister for political affairs said, addressing the issue of Palestine is a human and Islamic duty on the shoulder of all regional countries and added, “Any lasting regional arrangements depend on the realization of the Palestinian nation’s rights.”

Bagheri Kani also pointed to attempts by the US and the Zionist regime to wipe Palestine off the political geography of the region and the world, adding, “Palestine is the key to the region’s stability and lasting security; therefore, any initiative that fails to give attention to the Palestinian nation’s rights will be a destabilizing factor and will disrupt regional security.”

For his part, the Qatari deputy foreign minister pointed to the historical commonalities between the two countries and emphasized the need to further expand the already-growing bilateral relations in all aspects.

He described meetings and consultations between Foreign Ministry officials of the two countries as effective in efforts to boost mutual ties.

The Qatari foreign ministry said in a statement that the meeting also included discussions on the talks in Vienna over reviving a 2015 nuclear deal officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

“During the meeting, they reviewed the bilateral relations, the developments in the ongoing negotiations to return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with the United States, as well as a number of issues of common interest,” the Qatari statement said. 

The statement added that the Qatari diplomat “stressed the importance of advancing further in order to revive the nuclear agreement which is in the interest of the security and stability of the region, expressing the State of Qatar's aspiration for a close agreement between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

The Qatari diplomat also spoke over the phone with Enrique Mora, the European Union's coordinator for Vienna talks, after his meeting with Bagheri Kani. 

“During the phone call, the two sides reviewed aspects of the bilateral cooperation between the State of Qatar and the European Union, and the developments in the negotiations to return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran's nuclear program, in addition to issues of common concern,” the Qatari foreign ministry said in a separate statement. 

The statement said that al-Khulaifi “expressed the State of Qatar's appreciation for the efforts exerted by the European Union to bring views of the parties closer together in order to revive the Iranian nuclear agreement; affirming that reaching a just agreement that takes into account the concerns of all parties is in the interest of the security and stability of the region.”

Earlier on Thursday, Qatar’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani held Thursday a phone call with Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

Sheikh Mohammed and Amir Abdollahian reviewed bilateral relations between the two countries, developments in the negotiations to return to the Joint Plan of Action with the US, and several issues of common interest, according to the Qatari foreign ministry.

In this call, Sheikh Mohammed said, “the State of Qatar looks forward to the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America reaching a consensus that would contribute to reviving the nuclear deal and reaching a fair agreement for all, taking into consideration the concerns of all parties.”

He “stressed that this would enhance security and stability in the region.”

Qatar has been proactively offering its good offices during the nuclear talks and it has played host to a round of talks.