Qatar’s Prime Minister will visit Tehran on Thursday to revive diplomatic talks between the United States and Iran amid renewed tensions over Washington’s plans to intensify economic pressure.

Qatar, a close U.S. ally and neighbour of Iran, had acted as a key back-channel mediator between the two sides.

It also played a direct role in helping secure a ceasefire in June that temporarily halted hostilities.

The planned visit comes as the war approaches its sixth month, with major fighting largely on hold but diplomatic efforts yet to produce a breakthrough.

A major sticking point remains the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway through which a significant share of the world’s oil supplies passes.

Tehran has used control of the strait as leverage in negotiations.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said an unidentified projectile struck a tanker in the strait early on Thursday, sparking a fire that was later extinguished. All crew members were reported safe and accounted for.

The mediation process has also been complicated by disagreements over control and revenue-sharing arrangements for the waterway between Iran and Oman.

Washington has meanwhile increased economic pressure on Tehran, with plans to impose additional sanctions aimed at restricting Iran’s access to international trading partners.

Oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz dropped sharply to about five million barrels per day on Monday, their lowest level in three months, according to recent ship-tracking data.

Before the war, the strait carried about 20 million barrels of crude oil daily.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards had said earlier on Wednesday that Tehran and Muscat had reached an agreement on sharing the waterway and its revenues.

A senior Iranian source, however, said the two countries were still working on the details.

The UN International Maritime Organisation has recorded 70 incidents in the Strait of Hormuz since Feb. 28, resulting in the deaths of 19 seafarers.

Thousands of people have been killed, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, since the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran.

The attacks were carried out with the stated objectives of preventing Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, supporting efforts to topple the Iranian government and destroying its missile programme.

(NAN)