Representatives of Iran, Turkey, Kuwait, Pakistan and the Palestinian Authority left the country. from President Isaac Herzog’s speech Thursday at the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Baku, Azerbaijan.
At the same time, questions were raised about the reported behavior of the Qatari delegation. The Iranian newspaper Tehran Timetable claimed that the Qatari delegation also left the room, while eyewitnesses to the conference said that the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, remained in his seat and listened to Herzog’s remarks.
The summit brought together senior representatives from countries in Asia and the Middle East, including countries that do not maintain diplomatic relations with Israel.
Turkey was represented by its Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan, the Palestinian Authority by its Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kuwait by its Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Iran by its Deputy Minister of Legal and International Affairs and Pakistan by its Ambassador to Azerbaijan.
The representatives of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates remained in the room. The Qatari emir’s decision to remain in power has attracted particular attention due to the lack of formal diplomatic relations between Doha and Jerusalem, as well as Qatar’s mediating role in sensitive regional issues.
Difference between Iranian media and eyewitness accounts
The discrepancy between Iranian media reports and eyewitness accounts raises questions about Iran’s motivation in shaping Qatar’s actions toward Israel.
The original text of the Iranian report has not been independently verified and it remains unclear whether it referred to the emir himself or other members of the delegation. Other members of the Qatari delegation may have left while the emir stayed. As of yet, no official statement has been released by Qatar to reconcile these contrasting accounts.
Dr. Ariel Admoni, from Ariel University, Bar-Ilan University and the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, noted that the Iranian newspaper’s framing reflects the delicate relationship between Doha and Tehran.
In this context, Iran relies on Qatari mediation and thus seeks to present Qatar as adopting a more anti-Israeli stance than its actual policies require, thus allowing Iran to maintain public relations with Doha.
From Tehran’s perspective, Qatar is a crucial regional partner, largely because it can interact with actors with whom Iran cannot maintain direct contact. Portraying Doha as taking a strong public stance against Israel helps the Iranian regime justify its current ties with Qatar, both to the Iranian public and to anti-Israel factions.
This analysis serves as an explanatory interpretation of a potential narrative motif and does not constitute evidence that the report was directly dictated by authorities in Tehran.
Qatar maintains close ties with Tehran and plays a mediating role with Washington
Qatar maintains close ties with Tehran, maintains open channels of communication with the United States and Western governments, and plays a mediating role between opposing sides. The Emir of Qatar refrained from joining the public protest against Herzog’s speech.
The summit brought together representatives of nations engaged in serious political conflict. According to the seating chart, Herzog and the Iranian representative were seated on the same side of the conference table, separated by four seats, including those of the foreign ministers of Turkey and Bahrain. The Emir of Qatar sat on the other side of the host president, Ilham Aliyev.
During his diplomatic visit to Azerbaijan, Herzog met with President Ilham Aliyev to discuss strengthening strategic relations and regional stability. Herzog also met with Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani to discuss expanding regional cooperation and the Abraham Accords.
Azerbaijan maintains close relations with Israel while maintaining diplomatic relations with Turkey and Iran.
The visit also attracted attention in Turkey after it emerged that Herzog had arrived in Baku aboard a flight operated by Azerbaijan’s national airline, AZAL, which flew over Turkish airspace despite restrictions on Israeli government aircraft. A Turkish official said Ankara had not been informed of Herzog’s presence on the plane.
Herzog left Israel on Wednesday via a commercial Boeing 787 flight operated by AZAL. Flying over Turkish airspace was permitted under standard commercial flight regulations, which differ from restrictions applied to Israeli state aircraft.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan did not attend the summit; his country was represented by Foreign Minister Fidan, whose delegation was among those that left the country before Herzog’s speech.
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