TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has called for improved relations with Persian Gulf Arab countries during a telephone call with the emir of Qatar, which has come under fire from its neighbors over its relationship with Tehran.
Iran and the Persian Gulf Arab states are backing opposing sides in the Syrian and Yemen conflicts. Relations were further hit last weekend when U.S. President Donald Trump visited Saudi Arabia and accused Tehran of supporting terrorism in the Middle East.
Iran denies such accusations and says Saudi Arabia is the real source of funding for Takfiri militants. Rouhani responded to Trump's criticism by saying stability could not be achieved in the Middle East without Iran's help.
"We want the rule of moderation and rationality in the relations between countries and we believe that a political solution should be a priority," IRNA quoted Rouhani as telling Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.
"The countries of the region need more cooperation and consultations to resolve the crisis in the region and we are ready to cooperate in this field," Rouhani told Sheikh Tamim, IRNA added.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates signaled exasperation this week after official Qatar media published purported remarks by Sheikh Tamim critical of Trump's foreign policy and of renewed tensions with Tehran.
Qatar said the remarks, published late on Tuesday, were fake and that the news agency that ran them had been hacked.
However, the Qatari state television’s nightly newscast had showed clips of the monarch at an official military ceremony with a scrolling ticker at the bottom of the screen showing the same remarks.
They included reference that Qatar had "strong relations” with Iran. "Iran represents a regional and Islamic power that cannot be ignored and it is unwise to face up against it,” the ticker read at one point. "It is a big power in the stabilization of the region.”
He was also cited as questioning Trump's hostility towards Tehran, speaking of "tensions” between Doha and Washington, praising Hamas resistance movement as "the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people," and threatening to withdraw ambassadors from a range of Middle Eastern countries.
Afterwards, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates blocked access to Qatari media, including Al Jazeera and Egypt accused the international news channel of "inciting terrorism" and "fabricating news."
Qatari Foreign Minister Muhammad bin Abdulrahman Al Thani then said his country was being targeted in a "hostile media campaign."
In his phone conversation with the Qatari emir, Rouhani said, "One of the principles of our foreign policy is to continue cooperation with the neighboring countries in the Persian Gulf, and we believe that we can remove the existing obstacles and strengthen brotherly bonds through firm determination."
The Iranian president also pointed to the spread of terrorism in the region and said, "Our region is faced with a big challenge named terrorism, which can threaten the security of all of us and joint cooperation is the way to fight it."
The Qatari emir called for further expansion of mutual relations, saying there is no obstacle in the way of bolstering Tehran-Doha ties. He also expressed confidence that dialogue would be the sole solution to the regional issues.