Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani told the United Nations General Assembly that the Gulf was going through “one of the most dangerous phases” in its recent history and that the Iran war was the result of cumulative years of postponing diplomatic solutions.
In his speech at the UN headquarters in New York on Tuesday, Sheikh Tamim called for a “regional system of collective security” based on national sovereignty, non-interference and the peaceful resolution of disputes.
Such a system could have prevented the current Iran war and without it, he warned, vital facilities could be attacked and important waterways closed.
Any lasting agreement with Tehran should protect the whole region, including Iran, Sheikh Tamim said.
“The opportunity for a peaceful diplomatic solution, which we believe is both possible and realistic, must not be missed,” he added.
Underlining that Qatar is “a trusted mediator,” Sheikh Tamim called for the Strait of Hormuz to be reopened and warned that Gulf countries were being drawn into a war that was not theirs.
“We remain convinced that the crisis in the Gulf can be resolved through diplomatic means, through reopening the Strait of Hormuz to maritime navigation, in order to avert war,” the Qatari emir said.
Qatar was doing “everything in our power to address the conflict in the region through diplomatic means,” he added.
On Gaza, Sheikh Tamim stated that what had happened there was “genocide in every sense of the word.”
“There can be no talk of a just international order as long as Palestine remains in its plight,” he said, adding that the scale of the destruction had not been matched by the international response.
He called on Israel to fully implement the ceasefire by ending military operations, withdrawing from Gaza, lifting the blockade and allowing humanitarian aid to enter without conditions.
The emir also criticised Israeli actions in Syria and Lebanon, adding that the international response would show whether international law was being applied equally.
Turkey warns against wider war
In his speech at the General Assembly, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called for freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz to be maintained and said Turkey was working with other countries to end the fighting in the Gulf.
He added that letting the war spread to neighbouring countries would help no one.
On Gaza, Erdoğan described the territory as the “most inhumane and shameful concentration camp of our time” and urged UN members to increase pressure on Israel.
He also called on countries that have not recognised Palestine to reconsider their position.
During his fiery speech, the Israeli delegation left the hall.
The Turkish president also criticised Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s absence from the General Assembly. Abbas could not attend after the US denied him a visa for the second consecutive year.
Erdoğan renewed his demand for UN Security Council reform, arguing that decisions affecting more than 190 countries should not depend on its five permanent members.
He repeated his long-standing slogan that the “world is bigger than five” and said international law should not be applied differently to strong and weak countries.
Jordan says international inaction is a choice
Jordan’s King Abdullah contrasted the international response to Israel with the sanctions, asset freezes, embargoes and diplomatic isolation used in other conflicts.
When it came to Israel, he said, resolutions had repeatedly remained on paper.
He called the failure to act a political “choice” and said the problem was not a lack of available tools.
The Hashemite kingdom’s monarch accused Israel of seizing land, expanding settlements and allowing settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, and said that forced displacement constitutes a war crime.
He described Gaza and the occupied West Bank as two parts of an effort to make a viable Palestinian state impossible.
King Abdullah said decades of managing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict instead of tackling its causes had allowed temporary measures to become permanent policy.
He also warned that Israeli actions in southern Syria, including territorial expansion around water resources, posed a direct threat to Jordan’s northern border and water security.
On Iran, King Abdullah said the war was hurting trade and investment and raising energy and food bills worldwide.