Qatar, other regional powers seek off-ramp from Iran war

Qatar and other regional powers pursued an off‑ramp from the Iran‑United States confrontation on Thursday after another tanker incident was reported in the Strait of Hormuz and Tehran dismissed the latest U.S. sanctions. Meanwhile, Israeli operations continued in Gaza and Lebanon, drawing sharp criticism from the mediator overseeing the U.S.-brokered cease‑fire in the territory. **Diplomatic engagement by Qatar and Pakistan** Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani was in Tehran on Thursday as part of Qatar’s bid to ease tensions between Washington and Iran. Qatar’s foreign ministry posted on X that the meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi covered “the efforts being made to trim escalation” and outlined a prospective Iran‑Oman arrangement to secure safe ship transit through the Strait of Hormuz and clear the vital waterway of hazardous mines. Al Thani’s office said he stressed the “necessity of respecting the sovereignty of neighboring countries and the state of navigation” in the strait and also held talks that day with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf. Pakistan announced it was likewise pursuing diplomatic avenues to defuse the crisis. Field Marshal Asim Munir visited Tehran recently to revive the June memorandum of understanding aimed at reopening the strait, according to Pakistan’s foreign ministry. U.S. President Donald Trump told Al Jazeera on Wednesday that he has “no time schedule” to conclude the conflict, which will reach the six‑month mark on Friday. **Tanker strike in the Strait of Hormuz** The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Organization reported on Thursday that it had received notice of an oil tanker struck in the Strait of Hormuz. The British‑run monitoring agency said local authorities noted the vessel was hit by an unidentified projectile on Tuesday in the waters between Oman and Iran, igniting a fire. The crew was reported safe and no environmental damage has been recorded, the UKMTO added. **Iranian reaction to U.S. sanctions** Esmail Baghaei, spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry, wrote late Wednesday on social media that the United States had struck an agreement with Bahrain, describing it as a state with “virtually no meaningful economic talk with Iran.” In a separate Wednesday post, Iran’s chief negotiator and parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf thanked China for rejecting the U.S. “economic D‑Day” approach toward Iran. Earlier in the week Tehran warned it would respond harshly to any expansion of U.S. sanctions, including penalties against nations it views as cooperating with Washington. **Israeli strikes in Gaza** Three people were killed and several others wounded in Gaza on Thursday during Israeli attacks, local health officials confirmed. Two fatalities occurred in separate strikes on Gaza City, according to Shifa Hospital staff. A third death and additional injuries resulted from an assault on a shelter for displaced Palestinians in southern Gaza, Nasser Hospital officials said. The Israeli military said two of the strikes targeted a Hamas militant and offered no immediate comment on the third. Nickolay Mladenov, head of Trump’s Board of Peace, rebuked Israel during a United Nations session on Wednesday over its continued offensives. Israel’s deputy U.N. ambassador Noa Fur