Iran and Qatar Resume Shipping After Five-Month Hiatus

Maritime trade between Iran and Qatar has resumed after a hiatus of about five months, Abbas Abdolkhani, the Iranian commercial attache in Doha, told state media on Sunday.

The resumption follows a temporary agreement between Tehran and Washington, signed last month, which officially ended hostilities after a four-month military conflict and required a full return to pre-conflict levels of maritime traffic in the Persian Gulf region. However, transit to and from the region itself remains a subject of dispute.

Abdolkhani said shipping between the Iranian port of Dayyer and the Qatari port of Al Ruwais had resumed thanks to close coordination between the Iranian Embassy in Doha and Qatari authorities. The two ports, which lie on opposite sides of the Gulf, play a key role in regional trade. The Iranian port of Dayyer was repeatedly targeted during the war.

The gradual restoration of trade relations between the two sides of the Gulf is also taking place elsewhere. A representative of the Iranian Trade Promotion Organization confirmed in late June that Iranian goods are once again being cleared through the port of Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates, the region's largest logistics hub, after a long hiatus.

(Reuters, Max)