Qatar Emir optimistic about Iran deal and confirms deal on gas supplies to Germany

Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz walk after a news conference at the chancellery in Berlin May 20, 2022. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse

May 20 (Reuters) – Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani on Friday expressed optimism that a deal could be reached between the United States and Iran and expressed his willingness to help on the matter.

Talks with world powers to revive a 2015 deal to limit Iran’s nuclear program have been on hold since March, largely because of Tehran’s insistence that Washington remove the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from the US list of designated terrorist organizations.

“We hope that there will be an agreement between the parties to the nuclear deal, and Qatar is ready to take part in resolving this conflict,” the emir said at a joint press conference with Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin.

Germany, Great Britain, China, France and Russia are also contracting parties to the agreement from which then US President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018. {nL2N2X51MN]

Separately, the Emir confirmed plans to start supplying liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar to Germany from 2024, according to German daily Handelsblatt. Continue reading

German plans to build LNG terminals are gaining momentum as the country scrambles to wean itself off of cheaper gas imports from Russia in response to Moscow’s attack on Ukraine.

Reporting by Marwa Rashad and Maher Chmaytelli; Editing by Hugh Lawson

Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Policy.