Qatari Adviser Calls for Diplomacy to Prevent 'Total Regional War' Over Strait of Hormuz

Majed al-Ansari, adviser to Qatar's prime minister, has warned that the Middle East faces "total regional war" unless all sides pursue diplomacy. He called for access through the Strait of Hormuz to be secured under international law rather than controlled unilaterally by any one party. He spoke to Nick Schifrin of PBS NewsHour about regional tensions and whether there is a way back to negotiations between the United States and Iran.

Qatar has spent months mediating between Tehran and Washington while itself being targeted by Iranian strikes, making it both a mediator and a target. Iran answered the US and Israeli attack on it with missile and drone strikes on Israel, US bases and US-allied countries in the region, and by closing the Strait of Hormuz, which disrupted global trade.

The strait is a vital route for the world's oil and gas shipments. Qatar, one of the largest LNG exporters, sends its gas cargoes through it, so any disruption to navigation there feeds directly into energy markets and Gulf trade.

Diplomacy has produced partial results. In June, The New York Times reported that mediators said a first round of US-Iran talks had concluded, with a preliminary agreement under which vessels could pass through Hormuz for 60 days. Al-Ansari's call for enforcement under international law rejects a model in which a single state decides who may transit the waterway. It also reflects Qatar's consistent emphasis on dialogue over confrontation.