Iranian foreign minister in Qatar as Israel issues attack threat

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met his Qatari counterpart in Doha on Thursday, his spokesman said, after Israel warned it would retaliate against his country for last week's missile attack.

Qatar has played a key role in efforts to secure an elusive ceasefire in Gaza and has called for a truce in Lebanon, where Israel has escalated last month its bombing of the country, claiming to be targeting strongholds of Iran-backed Hezbollah.

The conflict in the region was the subject of "important consultations" between Araghchi and his counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who also serves as Qatar's prime minister, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on social media platform X.

"It is only responsible for all states to maximise their efforts to shield our region against an imposed catastrophe by stopping genocide in Gaza and aggression on Lebanon," he said after the talks.

Araghchi was expected to hold meetings with Qatari officials on Gaza, Lebanon and efforts to de-escalate regional tensions, a source with knowledge of the meetings told AFP on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of discussions.

His visit came after Israel on Wednesday threatened retaliation for last week's massive missile attack by Tehran, stoking fears of a wider war in the region.

Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant warned the response against Iran would be "deadly, precise and surprising".

On Wednesday, Araghchi was in Saudi Arabia where he met de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan.

Iran had said the talks were aimed at providing "better conditions" for Palestinians and Lebanese under Israeli attacks.

Israel has been waging a year-long war in Gaza that has killed over 42,000 people, mostly civilians.

Cross-border hostilities with Hezbollah since last year have developed into a full-blow war. Israeli strikes have killed over 1,200 people in Lebanon since mid-September, many of them civilians.

Iran's president Masoud Pezeshkian travelled to Qatar last week where he insisted Tehran was not looking for war with Israel but vowed a stronger response in the case of an Israeli retaliation for its missile attack.