Rather than give in to the blockading countries’ demands, Qatar announced on Thursday that it was restoring full diplomatic relations with Iran and sending its ambassador back to Tehran for the first time since 2016. Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said its ambassador to Tehran will resume his diplomatic duties, 20 months after the country recalled the envoy to protest an attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran by Iranian demonstrators angered by Riyadh’s execution of a prominent Shiite cleric. "The state of Qatar expressed its aspiration to strengthen bilateral relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran in all fields," a short Foreign Ministry statement said. Political and business leaders in Qatar have argued that they have to maintain ties with Iran because of the gas field, which Doha calls the North Field and in Tehran is known as South Pars. Saudi Arabia and three other Arab states have been blockading Qatar since early June and have demanded that Qatar curb its ties with Iran, as well as shut down its al-Jazeera television network and expel extremists from its territory.
Qatar restores diplomatic ties with Iran. Tehran welcomes the move.