Paris (France) (AFP) - Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani joined discussions on the Middle East held on the sidelines of the G7 ministerial meeting in France on Tuesday, the day after his meeting with US President Donald Trump as part of diplomatic efforts to end the war with Iran.

Published on: 10/11/2026 - 13:11

Since Monday, Paris has been hosting meetings of foreign ministers of the Group of Industrialized Countries. On the sidelines, it called for a meeting in which the foreign ministers of four of the group’s countries, namely France, Britain, Germany, and Italy, and their Qatari and Saudi counterparts, Faisal bin Farhan, would participate.

The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that "the ministers will discuss the situation in the Middle East, with a special focus on the Iranian crisis and its security and economic repercussions on the region and the international community in general."

Bin Abdul Rahman, whose country plays a mediating role between the United States and Iran, met Donald Trump on Monday in Washington. The US President subsequently spoke of “positive momentum” to end the conflict that began with US-Israeli strikes on Tehran on February 28.

Since the start of the war, which had wide-ranging repercussions on global energy prices, the G7 has witnessed a divergence in positions between the United States on the one hand, and the other six countries (France, Germany, Britain, Canada, Italy, and Japan), against the backdrop of the conflict and Tehran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, vital for supplies of oil and liquefied natural gas, and the subsequent rise in energy prices.

The G7 foreign ministers are seeking to urge Washington to avoid a new escalation with Iran, and to ensure a fair settlement for Ukraine, with the start of negotiations between Kiev and Moscow sponsored by Washington in Abu Dhabi.

The meeting between the Europeans, Qatar and Saudi Arabia comes at a time of intensifying escalation in the Yemeni conflict between the Houthis, who are supported by Iran, and the government supported by a coalition led by Riyadh.

Oil, civilian and military facilities in the Kingdom are being subjected to missile and drone strikes from the Houthis, while the coalition is carrying out intense air strikes in Yemen targeting Houthi areas, which they say have resulted in dozens of deaths.

In addition to Iran and Yemen, the meeting will discuss the issue of Lebanon, as Paris seeks to establish a mechanism to guarantee an international presence in the south of the country, of which Israel occupies large areas, after the end of the mandate of the United Nations force at the end of this year. Paris, in cooperation with Rome, wants to form a multinational force to succeed UNIFIL.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Monday that he discussed the Lebanon issue with French President Emmanuel Macron. He added, "The goal is to have a reliable party on the ground capable of verifying the parties' commitment to (the terms of the framework agreement) in the experimental areas. This does not necessarily require a military mission like the one UNIFIL was performing... Rather, it could be civilian."

Lebanon entered the war on March 2 after Hezbollah fired missiles at Israel, which it said were in response to the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the first American and Israeli strikes on Iran. Israel responded with an intense campaign of raids and a ground incursion by its forces, which occupied dozens of towns and villages in southern Lebanon.

The intensity of the fighting calmed down after a memorandum of understanding was reached between Iran and the United States in June, and then Lebanon and Israel signed a framework agreement stipulating the disarmament of Hezbollah, a gradual Israeli withdrawal from the territories it had penetrated, and the deployment of the Lebanese army, starting from two “experimental” areas.

© 2026 AFP

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