The go-between: how Qatar became the global capital of diplomacy

The Audio Long Read

The Guardian

Society & Culture

4.3 • 2.4K Ratings

🗓️ 25 August 2025

⏱️ 45 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The tiny, astonishingly wealthy country has become a major player on the world stage, trying to solve some of the most intractable conflicts. What’s driving this project? By Nesrine Malik. Read by Sulin Hasso. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

Transcript

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1:09.1	The Go Between How Qatar became the Global Capital of Diplomacy
1:13.3	by Nessrine Malek, read by Sulin Hasso.
1:21.3	On the morning of Friday 13th of June,
1:26.3	a few hours after Israel launched a volley of missiles
1:28.9	towards Tehran, one of Donald Trump's first calls was to the Emir of Qatar.
1:34.0	Trump hoped that Sheikh Tamim could persuade the president of Iran, Masoud Peseshkian, to engage
1:39.4	in a negotiated solution.
1:41.9	Pezeshkiyan refused. Iran would be willing to talk, but would not negotiate under fire.
1:49.5	Over the next few days during what has since come to be known as the 12-day war, the Qatari spoke
	...

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