Qatar will not cut relations with Israel

An Iranian official said on Wednesday that Qatar told Iran that it will not cut its trade relations with Israel despite the Iranian pressures.

The Iranian official, who is a member at the Iranian delegation, which will take part at the summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference OIC due to be held in Qatar said that Qatar's rejection to close off its trade office in Israel came just several days before convening the summit.

The Iranian official who refused to be identified indicated that the Iranian President Muhammad Khatami whose country is presiding over the rotating presidency of the OIC is being exposed to great internal pressures from extremists inside Iran and from countries such as Libya and Saudi Arabia in order to boycott the summit with the aim to practice pressure on Qatar, noting that Khatami is looking forward to take part in the summit.

The Iranian official who made a press statement from Tehran, said that Iran is trying now to convince Qatar to release a statement " less moderate concerning its relations with Israel."

He added that Qatar feels that its national interests are more important that her Islamic interests or than backing the struggle of the Palestinian people against the Israeli occupation.

Meantime, news reports quoted Arab diplomats accredited in Doha as saying that Qatar is resisting pressure calling for boycotting its relations with Israel, as Qatar has great hopes in the US backing in its long- way conflict with Bahrain over having sovereignty on lands between the two sides.