On December 20th the emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, paid his fifth visit to Iran, trying to convince its leaders that Qatar's strategic relations with Iran's arch rival, the US, would never be used to the detriment of Iran's interests. The latest visit came just after the latest round of cables were leaked by WikiLeaks, a whistle-blowing website, which purportedly contain details of the Qatari prime minister and foreign minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabr al-Thani, privately encouraging the US to impose greater economic sanctions on Iran. The purpose of the emir's visit was the subject of much speculation, but it is likely that Qatar is once again trying to act as a conduit between the US and Iran to coincide with the latter's return to the negotiating table to resolve the stalemate over its nuclear programme after an 18-month hiatus, despite there being very little optimism on all sides that a substantive resolution will actually be reached.

Qatar's anxiousness to placate Iran stems, in part, from its fear that Iran could move to disrupt its gas production from the North Field, which the two countries share, in the event of a conflict between Iran and the US. Qatar hosts the US Department of Defence's largest airbase outside North America, at Al Udeid, and the US Central Command's Middle East headquarters, besides a sprawling heavy equipment warehouse, at Al Sailiyah, west of the capital, Doha. So far, Qatar has managed to keep what it describes as "excellent and brotherly relations" with the Iranian leadership by hosting the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and signing a variety of bilateral agreements, including a defence co-operation accord. Qatar has also moved to allay Iranian concerns by repeatedly stating that it would not allow military strikes to be conducted from its soil. Qatar's reassurances have, however, been received with some scepticism by Iran; according to Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem, the agreement under which the US deployed its troops and military assets on Qatari soil provide that the deploying party shall have the right to use them whenever the need arose.

Qatar's relatively close ties with Iran are viewed with considerable suspicion by other members of the Gulf Co-operation Council and other Arab countries, which balk at Iran's alleged nuclear ambitions and its arming of militant allies throughout the region. Saudi Arabia has repeatedly expressed its displeasure over Qatar's courting of the Islamic Republic, and according to further documents released by WikiLeaks, the king of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, was quoted as strongly criticising Qatar over its willingness to host Iranian military officials. The UAE and Kuwait have also expressed their displeasure. Qatar's Arab neighbours (all staunch US allies) feel that Iran has been using Qatar to weaken the US's protective umbrella over the Gulf and establish its own brand of security.