One day, it was US secretary of state Antony Blinken flying into Qatar to secure Doha’s support in releasing hostages seized by Hamas and preventing the militant group’s war with Israel escalating into a regional conflict.
The next, it was Iran’s top diplomat Hossein Amirabdollahian touching down in the Gulf state condemning Israel and warning that its bombardment of Gaza risked broadening the conflict. Amirabdollahian then met Ismail Haniyeh, the Doha-based political leader of Hamas, and lauded the “Palestinian victory”, referring to the militant group’s October 7 attack that triggered the war.
The visits this month, coupled with a flurry of phone calls with world leaders, underlined how Qatar is once more on the diplomatic front lines of an international crisis — a role that has brought the gas-rich state both praise and scrutiny.