Iran's top diplomat has met his Qatari counterpart in Tehran for talks on the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
The visit by Qatar's Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Thursday follows a week of intense diplomacy in Iran, involving separate meetings with Oman's top diplomat and senior Pakistani officials, seeking ways to end the Middle East war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
It also comes as Washington threatens wider secondary sanctions against countries, banks and companies that continue doing business with Iran, part of a broader campaign it has called "economic asphyxiation".
Iranian state television said Al Thani, who is also Qatar's prime minister, had met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi without providing details.
Qatar's foreign ministry said it discussed de-escalation efforts as well as the proposed Hormuz framework between Iran and Oman.
Al Thani "emphasised the necessity of respecting the sovereignty of neighbouring states and freedom of navigation" and pursuing dialogue, the ministry said.
Alongside mediator Pakistan, Qatar had played a key role in securing an April ceasefire and a June deal between Iran and the United States, but those deals have since collapsed.
‘Economic war’
Since war with the United States broke out on February 28, Iran has maintained tight control over Hormuz, a vital global energy conduit, with Washington imposing a naval counter-blockade on Iranian ports.
On Wednesday, Iran's Vice President Mohammad Jafar Ghaempanah said the blockade had prevented his country from importing enough petrol to cover a shortfall in domestic production.
"Petrol production is insufficient, and because of the US naval blockade, we cannot import it," he was quoted by the official IRNA news agency as saying.
In recent days, many Iranians have been seen queuing outside petrol stations.
Presidential chief of staff Mohsen Haji-Mirzaei, meanwhile, said petrol quotas would be reviewed, without elaborating.
As the United States seeks to strangle Iran's economy, Iranian officials have dismissed the measures as "failed policies" that will not force Tehran to change course.
"The country is in an all-out economic war," said Iran's top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf in a statement carried by local media.
"We will see that the government will defeat the enemy on this ground as well," he added.
Even before the war, Iran's economy was battered by decades of international sanctions.
Iran has for weeks been in talks with Oman, which also overlooks the Hormuz Strait, over a framework agreement that would establish a "temporary corridor" for shipping and provide for clearing mines Tehran says were laid during the war.
