Top Biden advisor held secret talks with Qatari PM on Israeli captives
ISNA - Iranian Students' News Agency
Wed / 10 January 2024 / 12:10
The US President Joe Biden's top Middle East advisor, Brett McGurk, has met with Qatar's Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdelrahman Al Thani, to discuss Israeli captives amid rising regional tensions.
Tehran-ISNA- A low-profile visit by US President Joe Biden's top Middle East advisor Brett McGurk, to Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdelrahman Al Thani took place in Doha, but remained under the radar, as the US made no announcement of the visit and published no readout regarding the meeting between the two.
McGurk spoke to the Qatari PM, knowing that Qatar constitutes a key ally for Washington in the region and has been playing, alongside Egypt, a significant role as mediator in the war on the Gaza Strip.
According to sources cited by Axios, the two discussed regional tensions and "efforts to secure the release" of Israeli captives being held by the Palestinian Resistance in the Strip.
The report by Axios also underscored that Qatar has been relaying messages to both Iran and the Ansar Allah movement, in Yemen, at the behest of Washington, claiming it is a way to diminish tensions.
Following the assassination of the Hamas Political Bureau Deputy Chief, Saleh al-Arouri, the negotiations process became reportedly more complicated and tensions intensified as the risk of expanding the war also reached dangerous levels.
McGurk's journey comes after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's regional tour, where he is actively engaged in talks regarding the war on Gaza and the increasing regional tensions, hoping to set the stones for an American solution.
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