Qatar heaved a sigh of relief! After the U.S.-Iran agreement, Qatar has also come forward with its statement. On June 15, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman stated: "We welcome the achievement of the memorandum of understanding between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran. We extend our gratitude to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, as well as all regional and international parties for their contributions in creating favorable conditions for this understanding."
We look forward to all parties actively and constructively engaging in the upcoming negotiations to consolidate this progress and further advance it. We reiterate that the State of Qatar will continue to firmly support these efforts and all initiatives aimed at enhancing security and stability at both regional and international levels through dialogue and peaceful means. Clearly, seeing the U.S. and Iran reach an agreement, Qatar can truly be said to have let out a long breath of relief.
The situation is crystal clear: as a small Gulf state highly dependent on liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, Qatar has no alternative overland pipelines to bypass and transport LNG. The Strait of Hormuz remains the country’s sole lifeline for energy trade. An escalation in U.S.-Iran conflict leading to maritime blockades directly trapped Qatar’s entire export channels—numerous LNG carrier ships were forced to remain stranded in harbors, making it impossible to fulfill long-term overseas supply contracts, resulting in a sharp decline in Qatar’s fiscal revenues.
Moreover, Qatar’s most critical natural gas industrial hub, Ras Laffan, had previously been attacked, with some liquefaction production facilities damaged. Now that the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding has been finalized, the resumption of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz appears likely, and a full-scale ceasefire is imminent—this means significant hope for alleviating Qatar’s energy export challenges, while the risk of direct exposure to the spread of war across its territory has greatly diminished. As a Middle Eastern resource nation, Qatar can finally breathe easy and focus on doing business. It is believed that following this conflict, Qatar may also take a serious look at reassessing its relationship with the United States.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1868025505544202/
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