Iran’s FM Abbas Araghchi moves to cement Russia, Qatar ties

“Referring to the visit of the Russian high-ranking economic delegation to Tehran, he [Araghchi] expressed hope that this visit would help further develop bilateral relations,” Iran state media said.

By SETH J. FRANTZMAN NOVEMBER 20, 2024 15:36

Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi walks, on the sidelines of the 79th United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York, US, September 24, 2024. (photo credit: CAITLIN OCHS/REUTERS)

Iran’s Foreign Minister met with his Qatari counterpart, according to Iranian state media. “Qatar's foreign minister, who has traveled to Tehran at the head of a high-ranking delegation, met and exchanged views with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi,” the Iranian report said.

The meeting comes in the wake of another important meeting between Araghchi and Mikhail Bogdanov, the Russian President's Special Representative for West Asia and Africa. Taken together, the meetings illustrate how Iran is positioning itself today, working with Qatar, which is a US ally, and also Russia, as Moscow hints at a major escalation in Ukraine.

Doha has long enjoyed close ties to Iran. Qatar also has hosted Hamas, which is backed by Iran. The terrorist group carried out the October 7 attack on Israel, and Iran backed the attack and got its other proxies, Hezbollah and the Houthis, to attack Israel. Therefore, the Iran-Doha relationship is important for managing several regional files.

Doha’s influence over Hamas is large, and reports say Hamas leaders may have now moved to Turkey due to some US pressure on Doha to finally stop hosting the terrorists. Iran would prefer to coordinate with Doha on key matters, including Iran’s views about a possible ceasefire in Lebanon.

The US envoy Amos Hochstein has been in the region talking about a ceasefire. In this context, Qatari Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Araghchib discussed bilateral and regional developments.

Former Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal speaks during an interview with Reuters in Doha, Qatar, October 5, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/IBRAHEEM ABU MUSTAFA)

Meanwhile Iranian state media also says that the Iranian top diplomat met with Bogdanov. “Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi emphasized the Islamic Republic of Iran's determination to further strengthen cooperation in bilateral and multilateral fields while referring to the very good relations between Tehran and Moscow,” IRNA noted. “Mikhail Bogdanov, the Russian President's Special Representative for West Asia and Africa, who has traveled to Tehran for consultations with Iranian officials, on Tuesday evening met and held talks with Abbas Araqchi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

Growing closer

Iran and Russia have been growing closer in recent years. Iran supplies Russia with drones that it uses to attack Ukraine. This week has seen a possible escalation in the war. The US approved Ukraine to use US-supplied missiles to attack inside Russia, and the White House also said it would approve landmines for Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s president has hinted that if the US cuts funding or support for Kyiv, then Ukraine could lose the war. These are tense times and Russia appears ready to escalate. The US and several countries temporarily closed their embassies in Kyiv on November 20 due to possible escalation by Moscow.

In Iran, though, things are looking more pleasant. The Iranian foreign minister stressed the importance of good relations with Russia. “Referring to the visit of the Russian high-ranking economic delegation to Tehran, he expressed hope that this visit would help further develop bilateral relations,” Iranian state media noted. “Araqchi also considered the situation of insecurity and instability in the West Asian region are the result of the aggressive actions of the Zionist regime and warned against the expansion of the scope of conflicts to the entire region,” IRNA reported.

Iran also recently  raised the issue of western sanctions and what Iranian media term the “embargo on Iran's airlines and shipping lines.” Iran is increasingly angry at the European Union and the Iranian diplomat slammed the EU in the meetings with Moscow. This is how Iran is positioning itself to feed off Moscow’s anger at the West and tie Iran economically to Russia and China. "The EU and the UK, without presenting any evidence, have accused Iran of supplying ballistic missiles to Russia and imposed sanctions on our airlines and shipping," Araghchi wrote on X social media.

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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran will respond to the “unconstructive measures at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors' session. Speaking in a phone call with IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi on Wednesday, Araghchi discussed the interactions between IIran’s FM moves to cement Russia, Qatar tiesran and the IAEA following Grossi's trip to Tehran, as well as the developments related to the Board of Governors meeting,” IRNA noted.