The death of the commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani on Friday in a US airstrike in Baghdad, along with nine others has marked a dramatic escalation in tensions between the US and Iran.
The killing of Soleimani triggered strong reaction especially from the Iranian top officials, where Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who last year honoured Soleimani with Iran’s highest honour, vowed “severe retaliation” in response to Soleimani’s killing. The US is also deploying more troops in the region to enhance security of its forces and defend its missions and interests.
This is one of the most serious developments since the US decided to unilaterally withdraw from a 2015 nuclear pact signed by major world powers with Iran, and the US applied the maximum pressure policy on Iran. Many countries in the region called on Iran and the US to exercise restraint and avoid further escalation that will fuel tension.
These calls for calm came from the fact that the current situation in the region is not likely to bear any further escalation. As well many countries in the region already suffer from wars and instability and hundreds of thousands have lost their lives in Syria, Yemen, Libya and Iraq where the operation took place. Others have witnessed political transformations such as Sudan and Algeria and countries like Lebanon and Iraq are still under pressure of public demonstrations.
The State of Qatar, which is well aware of the dangers of this development, has warned of the continuation of the manifestations of escalation in Iraq, saying that could lead to unfortunate results. In a statement issued on Friday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged all parties “to exercise restraint to spare Iraq, its people and the people of the region, the vicious cycle of violence and the consequences of direct and indirect armed escalation”.
The statement further called on the international community to shoulder its responsibilities towards the region. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs H E Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani yesterday discussed with the President of Islamic Republic of Iran, H E Dr. Hassan Rouhani; and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran, H E Mohammad Javad Zarif, in Tehran the latest developments on the regional arena, especially the recent events in Iraq.
The two sides also discussed ways of calm to maintain collective security of the region. The State of Qatar is particularly concerned because any further escalation and instability will lead to a new conflicts in the region, therefore it is making full use of diplomacy to maintain regional peace
