Qatar steps in as mediator between Iran and the United States

Foreign affairs minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani spent five days in Washington during the second half of July for a series of meetings with senior officials. This was swiftly followed by a visit to Tehran, in a sign that Qatar may be acting as an intermediary between the United States and Iran at a time when talks to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal have stalled.