USA

Qatar is not our friend

Republican Sen. Rick Scott (Fla.) on Sunday reiterated his discomfort with the Qatari government’s role in negotiations between the United States and Iran.

“They’re not our friends,” Scott told host Shannon Bream on Fox News Sunday, referring to Qatar.

The Florida senator continued to criticize the Qatari government for its relations with Iran. The two countries have close financial ties, but the Iranian military has fired missiles at several sites in Qatar since the United States and Israel launched a war with Iran in February.

Earlier this month, Qatari prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani was among a number of regional leaders who attended peace talks between the United States and Iran in Bürgenstock, Switzerland.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who has been mediating talks between the two governments for months, said on Wednesday: He spoke to the emir of QatarSheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani “thanked” him for his “determined support” to peace efforts.

“We expressed satisfaction with the positive progress made in the first round of technical negotiations in Bürgenstock and agreed on the importance of maintaining this momentum through continued dialogue and diplomacy,” Sharif wrote on social media, referring to his meeting with Sheikh Tamim.

Two days before his interview with Bream, Scott detailed his “skepticism” about Qatar’s participation in peace talks between Washington and Tehran.

One Long sharing on social mediaThe Florida Republican noted the Qatari government’s close ties to Iran and its proxies, including Hamas. He also stated that Qatar is the “largest foreign donor to American universities” whose purpose is to strengthen its position on university campuses and harm the United States and its allies.

“Qatar money creates dependency so Qatar can control research agendas and policies that support undemocratic government in the Middle East and criticize Jews and Christians,” Scott added. “Qatar money also went to secondary schools where there was little or NO transparency.”

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