Qatar expects that the Israel-Iran ceasefire announced earlier this week will hold, government spokesperson Majed al-Ansari told NewsNation’s Brian Entin on Thursday. “Any ceasefire anywhere in the world is fragile.

Iran said that it was still assessing if its in the best interest of the country to hold talks with the United States, the foreign minister said.

In public, Qatar was insisting on the right to defend itself after Iran attacked a U.S. military site in the emirate. Behind the scenes, it was already mediating a truce between Israel and Iran.