Qatar's prime minister and foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, took part in a phone call on Tuesday with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to discuss the continuation of their joint mediation efforts in Gaza, the Qatari foreign ministry said. The men expressed hope that a ceasefire deal reaches its second phase and turns into a permanent ceasefire (Read more at Reuters).
To put it very simply, Qatar is willing to be (almost) everyone’s friend. It hosts Hamas and Taliban representatives along with a U.S. embassy and a U.S. military base, while even Israeli officials stop by now and then. Qatar’s open-door policy has made it a go-to mediator in many of the world’s conflicts; indeed, mediation is a pillar of Qatar’s foreign policy, giving it outsized influence. But that approach also has left Qatar open to questions in the U.S., Israel and beyond about whether it is truly a friend to anyone. Some argue the U.S. shouldn’t depend on Qatar as a partner or an intermediary (Read more at Politico).
The initial diplomatic signals from President-elect Trump’s team suggest a shift, with reports indicating a call for Qatar to reinstate Hamas leaders to Doha. This starkly contrasts with recent moves by the Biden administration, which pressured Qatar to distance itself from Hamas. The Trump administration must address Qatar’s international positioning. As host of the 2025 U.N. anti-corruption summit, Qatar has portrayed itself as a global leader in combating corruption. The administration should challenge this narrative by ensuring accountability for Doha’s domestic and international actions. For Trump, the path forward is clear: Qatar must earn its privileges as a U.S. ally. A failure to reset the relationship would allow Qatar to continue benefiting from U.S. trust while undermining shared values and priorities (Read more at ASEAN News).
Burns is due to meet Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, in Doha (Read more at Dohanews).
Asked about the impact of Trump’s return to the White House on Qatar-US relations, particularly in energy, Qatar’s Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi said oil and gas projects were multi-decade plans and “survive governments”, but later added he thought Trump was “good for business” (Read more at Business Recorder).
The Gulf emirate, along with the United States and Egypt, had been involved in months of unsuccessful negotiations for a Gaza truce and hostage release. But in November, Doha announced it had put its mediation on hold, saying it would resume when Hamas and Israel showed "willingness and seriousness". "We have sensed, after the election, that the momentum is coming back," Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani told the Doha Forum for political dialogue (Read more at France24).
The meeting focused on strengthening the strategic relations between Qatar and the United States, as well as discussing the latest regional and international developments of mutual concern, particularly the situation in Gaza, the occupied Palestinian territories, and Lebanon (Read more at Qatar Tribune).
Qatar was once the top LNG supplier to Japan and South Korea, but buyers are showing preference for supplies from the United States, the United Arab Emirates and Oman. These suppliers all offer shorter-term contracts and unlike Qatar do not restrict the cargoes' final destination. This gives buyers flexibility to sell cargoes elsewhere in the future if they no longer need the cargoes. US sellers, ADNOC and Oman generally offer LNG volumes on a free-on-board (FOB) basis, which allows buyers to resell cargoes. Deals are usually linked to US natural gas prices at the Henry Hub benchmark, which tend to be cheaper than contracts linked to oil (Read more at Business Standard).
As part of their attempts to avoid being caught in the crossfire, Gulf states including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar are also refusing to let Israel fly over their airspace for any attack on Iran and have conveyed this to Washington. The moves by the Gulf states come after a diplomatic push by Tehran to persuade its Gulf neighbors to use their influence with Washington amid rising concerns Israel could target Iran's oil production facilities (Read more at Daily Sabah).
It allows visa-free travel by Qatari citizens for up to 90 days. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State said in a statement that Qatar is the first Gulf country to be admitted to the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, commending Doha for meeting the strict security requirements to join (Read more at Aljazeera).
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Sunday said he had met with Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani at his Florida resort (Read more at Dunyanews).
The three leaders said there is a framework agreement on the table and only its implementation details need to be finalized. They have called on the two sides to resume urgent talks on Thursday, August 15 in (Doha or Cairo) to fill all remaining gaps and begin implementing the agreement without any delay (Read more at Axios).
Analysts say expelling Hamas leaders from Qatar will not help Israel because the Hamas leadership in Gaza is making the decisions over a possible ceasefire. Doha has hosted Hamas’ political leadership at the US’ request since 2012 and provided billions in cash to the Hamas authorities in recent years with the approval of the US and Israel (Read more at The Cradle).
Qatar’s embassy in Washington said t it has provided assistance to Gaza in two ways with the “full coordination” of the Israeli government. The first is a Qatar-funded fuel purchasing scheme to generate electricity in Gaza, and the second is a project in partnership with the World Food Programme that provides “$100 per month to the poorest families in Gaza”. (Read more at Aljazeera)
CIA director is to travel to Cairo this weekend for talks with the head of Israel's Mossad and top Qatari and Egyptian officials to break the deadlock in negotiations. The current proposal could lead to a 6-week ceasefire and the release of 40 hostages — female soldiers and other women, men over the age of 50 and in critical medical conditions. In return, Israel would release roughly 700 Palestinian prisoners, including about 100 who are serving life sentences for killing Israelis (Read more at Axios).
William Burns secretly arrived in Egypt yesterday and headed to Doha today for a meeting with Qatar’s prime minister. He will next travel to Israel (Read more at Aljazeera).
