The News
High-level diplomacy within the Middle East and beyond is ramping up ahead of US President Donald Trump’s expected visit to the Gulf next month.
On Thursday, Qatar’s emir met with Russia’s president in Moscow, and Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman — the crown prince’s brother — visited Tehran for talks with Iran’s supreme leader, the highest-level visit by a Saudi royal to the Islamic Republic this century.
Discussions in Moscow focused on Gaza, future cooperation in Syria, and economic ties between Russia and Qatar. The meeting follows a visit by Syria’s president to Doha on Tuesday, which also included a previously undisclosed sit down with Iraq’s prime minister. A deal was also signed: The Russian Direct Investment Fund and Qatar Investment Authority agreed to start a joint $2 billion fund to invest in technology, minerals, and health care projects in Russia.
Prince Khalid delivered a written message from his father, the Saudi king, to Iran’s leader. The kingdom won’t “be a conduit in any fashion towards an attack on Iran,” Saudi commentator Ali Shihabi told the Financial Times. Riyadh supports “Trump’s efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the nuclear crisis, and doesn’t want a war.”