Iranian President Rouhani received a call from Qatari Emir Tamim Al Thani on Saturday, according to the official website of the Iranian presidency.

:: In a phone call with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and that was initiated by the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani described the ties between both countries as historic and firm, according to the official website of the Iranian presidency.

He added “we are willing to strengthen these relations”.

From his part, Rouhani stressed that “there are ample grounds and potentials for developing Iran-Qatar cooperation in political and economic fields and we should make the best use of them to promote relations”.

Sheikh Tamim also said: “We believe that there is no obstacle on the way of deepening Iran-Qatar relations”.

Al-Thani’s recent controversial statements, which Doha tried to refute by saying the statements were published by hackers on Qatar News Agency (QNA)’s website, have raised questions in recent days.

He reportedly acknowledged that Iran was an “Islamic power” and that there was “no wisdom in harboring hostility toward Iran”.