Iran’s interior minister meets his Qatari counterpart in Doha: the fate of three Iranian military pilots also on the table

Iran’s Interior Minister, Eskandar Momeni, met in Doha with his Qatari counterpart for what the Iranian agency Tasnim described as “constructive discussions”, as Al Jazeera reports. On the agenda were organised crime, coastguard cooperation, security and drug trafficking.

A delicate point of the talks was the fate of three Iranian military pilots whom Tehran claims Qatar is holding — an accusation Doha has denied. The issue comes at a time of high regional tensions, with Qatar having strongly condemned the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia.

The meeting takes place as Iran tries to keep diplomatic channels open with the Gulf states, despite the continuing war with the US and Israel and the American naval blockade on Iranian oil exports.