DOHA, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Qatar said Tuesday that contacts with the United States and Iran are continuing in an effort to bring the two sides back to negotiations.
"Our officials are on the phone on a daily basis trying to workshop ideas, workshop ways of getting back to the negotiations," Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said at a weekly media briefing.
On the Strait of Hormuz, Al Ansari urged dialogue and diplomacy, saying the priority is "to go back to the freedom of navigation and to the opening of the Strait of Hormuz the way it was before the war."
Regarding the latest U.S. economic sanctions against Iran, Al Ansari called them unilateral and reiterated that Qatar prioritizes a diplomatic settlement.
"We are urging the parties to engage fully in the talks and the mediation that is led by Qatar and Pakistan and the other regional players and we find that to be the only way out of this crisis," he said.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday announced a new wave of sanctions to further isolate Iran, warning of what he called "an economic D-Day." ■
