AP / August 28, 2026
Qatar and other regional powers sought an off-ramp from the war with Iran on Thursday as another tanker attack was reported in the Strait of Hormuz, and the Iranian government dismissed the Trump administration’s latest sanctions.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani was in Tehran on Thursday as part of Qatar’s efforts to resolve the conflict between the United States and Iran.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said in a post on X that Al Thani’s meeting with Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi included talks on “the efforts being made to reduce escalation,” as well as a proposed plan between Iran and Oman to allow ships safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz and clear the vital commercial waterway of dangerous mines.
Al Thani’s office said the prime minister emphasized the “necessity of respecting the sovereignty of neighbouring countries and the freedom of navigation” through the strait. He also met Thursday with Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian and its parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf.
Maj. Gen. Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, underscored the longstanding ties between the two nations, noting that Iran supported Qatar during difficult times. Al Thani said Qatar has never hesitated to cooperate with Iran.
U.S. President Donald Trump told Al-Jazeera on Wednesday that he has “no time schedule” to wrap up the conflict that will reach the six-month mark on Friday.
Oil tanker attacked in Strait of Hormuz
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Organization said Thursday that it had received a report of an oil tanker hit in the Strait of Hormuz.
The monitoring agency, run by the British military, said that local authorities reported that the vessel was hit by an unknown projectile on Tuesday in the waters between Oman and Iran, causing it to catch fire.
The crew was reported to be safe and there have been no reports of environmental damage, the UKMTO said.
Oil continues to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, albeit well below prewar levels, shipping analysts say.
Ship traffic through the vital waterway increased last week compared with the prior week, with the number of oil and gas carriers up 50%, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence.
The U.S. government has claimed that up to 9 million barrels a day are flowing through the strait “over short time periods,” but commodities analysts at ING bank cautioned that the figure “seems aggressive.”
Other ship-tracking estimates suggest it’s closer to 2 to 6 million barrels per day, ING said. Before the war, some 15 million barrels per day passed through the strait.
Navy Admiral Bradley Cooper, the top U.S. military commander for the Middle East, said Thursday night that international shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz have been cleared of mines.
“Today, international shipping lanes are open and momentum is building,” he said in a video posted on social media.
Gulf states have not commented on the statement by U.S. Central Command, and it was not possible to independently verify the claim.
Even without mines, however, ships still face threats from drones, missiles and boats as they pass through the narrow waterway.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry criticizes US sanctions
Esmail Baghaei, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, wrote late Wednesday in a social media post that the U.S. had made a coalition with Bahrain, calling it a country with “virtually no meaningful economic exchange with Iran.”
In another social media post on Wednesday, Iran’s top negotiator and parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf thanked China for rejecting the U.S. “economic D-Day” policies against Iran.
Earlier this week, Tehran had warned that it would respond harshly to expanded U.S. sanctions, including measures against countries it sees as cooperating with Washington.
