While a deep and comprehensive strategic alliance between Iran and Qatar is unlikely in the short term, an inclusive alignment, their ability to maintain communication channels and avoid confrontation, is quite possible.
Relations between the two countries have not faced major tensions in the past 5 decades. Despite the crisis between the GCC and Tehran since 2016, Qatar returned its ambassador to Iran in 2017.
In the past year, we have witnessed numerous talks and mutual meetings between officials and leaders of the two countries. We have witnessed the visit of the Emir of Qatar to Tehran and the visit of the President of Iran to Doha, as well as numerous mutual meetings of various officials of the two governments and the holding of cooperation committees in various fields.
In addition to the visit of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to Doha in October 2024, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, held talks with Iranian officials in Tehran in February 2025.
From the perspective of the Iranian leader, Iran considers Qatar a “brotherly country” despite some “unclear and unresolved” issues, including Iran’s frozen assets.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, while praising Iran’s relations, pointed to Qatar’s special position in its foreign policy.
In contrast, Sheikh Tamim pointed to various areas of cooperation, especially in the trade and economic fields, and welcomed Iran’s constructive relations with the Gulf Cooperation Council based on common interests and good neighborliness.
Qatar, with its policy of “no alliance, no confrontation” and calculated coexistence, has neither aligned itself with Iran’s opposition camp nor moved towards a complete alliance with Tehran.
The Emir of Qatar has previously pointed to Iran’s special position in the region for this country. Iran also emphasizes that the comprehensive development of relations with its neighbors is one of the fundamental axes of Tehran’s foreign policy doctrine.
In recent years, some of the focus of Iranian-Qatari meetings has been on mediating the release of Iranian-American and Iranian-European prisoners, common positions on the Palestinian issue, shared concerns about regional stability and security, coordination and consultation on some regional files such as developments in Afghanistan, Syria, security cooperation to combat terrorism and drug trafficking, and security of waterways in the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, and the Sea of Oman.
Doha is an ally of Washington in the GCC and has warm relations with Tehran. With Qatar’s non-confrontational view of the Iranian nuclear issue, Qatar has established itself as a prominent regional mediator for Iran.
Doha supports the agreement on Iran’s nuclear program and the reduction of US-Iran tensions, and bilateral or multilateral meetings and consultations, such as Araqchi’s meeting with the Qatari Prime Minister in Moscow on April 18, 2025, are moving in this direction.
Iran and Qatar also continue to find mutually beneficial opportunities for bilateral or multilateral cooperation, such as in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), through pragmatic cooperation amidst differences.
Cultural and educational exchanges have also grown well in recent years. Relations in the fields of tourism, health, and medicine, strengthening cooperation in health tourism, holding joint events and exhibitions, activating the private sector, and food security issues have also increased. In addition, there is the possibility of facilitating visas for Iranians in Qatar.
Another very important dimension is the economy and energy. The joint ownership of the North Dome/South Pars field, a huge natural gas reservoir, provides a stable basis for practical cooperation and continuous coordination in the management and extraction of hydrocarbon resources and the protection of long-term gas production.
Also, the expansion of non-oil trade and Qatari investment in Iranian infrastructure and other sectors, joint investment, and dispatch of labor to Qatar are still on the agenda.
Recently, in May 2025, Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development Farzaneh Sadeq held talks with Qatari officials in Doha on the development of the Deir port, increasing transport cooperation, establishing new cargo and passenger shipping lines, signing an international road transport agreement, and building and developing transport and transit infrastructure in the form of the North-South, Ashgabat and Turkey-Iran-Qatar corridors.
Also, the ambitious proposal for a submarine tunnel of about 190 kilometers from northern Qatar to the coast of Iran, which connects the two countries, could practically affect the long-term perspective of increasing the economic connectivity and integration of the southern and northern Persian Gulf, the Middle East, and Eurasia.
Given the emphasis of Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, on the tunneling program under the Persian Gulf, if the project committee is activated, Qatar can access Iran and Eurasia through it without the need for Saudi Arabia.
The Joint Economic Commission of the two countries and the bilateral basic economic agreements are important foundations for the future development of trade relations.
The meetings of the Joint Economic Commission are focused on increasing the volume of trade exchanges. If the volume of trade exchanges between Iran and Qatar reached more than 330 million dollars last year, which experienced a growth of 48 percent compared to the previous year, this promises a new leap in trade relations.
Challenges and Outlook
Some political and economic challenges such as sanctions, the two countries’ different views on resolving the regional issue, the presence of the United States, the issue of the Iranian islands, ideological and political divergences between Qatar and Iran, Qatar’s role in the GCC, the view of Israel, etc. are more obstacles to cooperation.
Qatar hosts a US military base in the Middle East, and the United States still has significant influence over its regional allies to limit their relations with Iran. US sanctions disrupt or reduce Qatar’s ability to invest or expand economic relations with Iran. Also, The challenges surrounding the release of frozen Iranian assets in Qatari banks are an example of the limitations.
Disagreements over Iran’s regional role persist in the GCC, and Qatar must balance its engagement with Tehran with a delicate stance in the GCC.
However, the future of Iran-Qatar relations is likely to be defined by pragmatic engagement focused on areas of mutual benefit, sustainable economic cooperation, continued high-level political meetings, and trade agreements.
Shared interests in the gas sector and a desire to expand non-oil trade and investment are likely to remain the main pillars of the relationship. In the meantime, any construction of an undersea tunnel is effectively a long-term commitment to multidimensional integration and Qatar’s departure from Saudi dependence.
While a deep and comprehensive strategic alliance between Iran and Qatar is unlikely in the short term, an inclusive alignment, their ability to maintain communication channels and avoid confrontation, is quite possible.
Samyar Rostami, а political observer and senior researcher in international relations
