CHANGES HEADLINE, UPDATES WITH DETAILS
TEHRAN (AA) – Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif held talks in Tehran on Saturday with his Qatari counterpart Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, according to the official IRNA news agency.
The top Qatari diplomat arrived in the Iranian capital on Saturday, one day after the killing of top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in a U.S. drone airstrike in Iraq.
IRNA said Zarif and Abdulrahman held two rounds of talks, without giving any further details.
The Qatari minister is expected to meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani during the visit.
There was no comment from Qatari authorities on the visit.
Soleimani, the leader of Iran's Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, was killed when a U.S. drone struck their convoy outside Baghdad's airport on Friday.
The Iranian general's killing marked a dramatic escalation in tensions between the U.S. and Iran, which have often been at a fever pitch since President Donald Trump chose in 2018 to unilaterally withdraw Washington from a nuclear pact world powers struck with Tehran.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who gave Soleimani the country’s highest honor last year, vowed "severe retaliation" in response to his killing.
The Pentagon accused Soleimani of plotting an attack on the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad, and planning to carry out additional attacks on U.S. diplomats and service members in Iraq and the region.
On Friday, Qatar called on all parties to exercise self-restraint and avoid dragging Iraq and the region into endless violence.
