A spokesman for the Qatari foreign ministry says the issue of frozen Iranian funds is directly linked to the progress of negotiations between Tehran and Washington, according to Al Jazeera.

On the Strait of Hormuz, he says a hotline dedicated to de-escalation was used to contain last week’s exchanges of fire between the US and Iran.

He adds that Qatar is coordinating with Oman regarding the safe passage of ships through the vital waterway, and Qatar considers freedom of navigation through the strait paramount.