Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), one of the most vocal opponents of the war with Iran, met with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and other senior officials in Doha over the weekend, days after Doha-brokered talks between the U.S. and Iran again hit an impasse. 

After arriving in Doha on Saturday, Murphy said he was in the region “to view war damage, talk to our partners about the impact of the war, and meet with those who are working to end the conflict,” and claimed he was the “first Democrat to be in the region since the war began.” (Rep. Josh Gottheimer [D-NJ], who traveled in June to the United Arab Emirates, where he met with top officials, and then to Lebanon last week with Rep. Darin LaHood [R-IL], was the first.) 

A readout from Al Thani’s office said that during his meeting with Murphy on Sunday, the two “exchanged views on a number of issues of mutual interest, particularly the developments in the region.”

Hamad Al Muftah, Qatar’s deputy chief of mission in Washington, on Sunday praised Murphy as “an honest and a reliable ally of Qatar, consistently supporting closer U.S.–Qatar ties and greater cooperation on shared strategic interests.”

Murphy also met with Ali Al Thawadi, a minister in the Prime Minister’s Office for Strategic Affairs who has served as a negotiator during talks with Hamas and Iran and holds a position as Doha’s representative to the Gaza Executive Board. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly met with Al Thawadi at the White House last year, shortly after an Israeli attack targeting Hamas officials in Doha, where The Telegraph reported he played a key role in securing an apology from Netanyahu to Qatar’s leadership. 

Al Thawadi, who also served as chief of staff to the brother of the Qatari emir, also factored into the U.S. government’s corruption case against former Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), facilitating the transfer of Formula 1 tickets to the son of Menendez’s wife.

Israeli media reported last month that Al Thawadi met with Michael Eisenberg, an advisor to Netanyahu and a member of the Gaza Executive Board, on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.

Al Thawadi also played a key role in Doha’s successful bid to host the 2022 World Cup. Murphy attended the World Cup in 2022 as part of the U.S.’ official delegation, later defending his participation in the trip — which faced criticism due to Qatar’s human rights abuses — by calling Doha an “imperfect partner.” 

Of the meeting with Al Thawadi, Murphy said that the Qatari official pushed for continued diplomacy with Iran. Last week, talks between the U.S. and Iran on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly broke down, reportedly prompting the State Department to force the Iranian delegation to the conference to leave the country.

Murphy also met with Qatar Foundation CEO Sheikha Hind Al Thani, saying that the “presence of American universities in Qatar is an important way for the United States to promote U.S. values in the Middle East and create more lasting people-to-people connections.” 

The Connecticut Democrat has praised Qatar as the U.S.’ “best partner” in the Gulf, but more recently opposed Doha’s gifting of a luxury jet to President Donald Trump and attempted to block arms sales to the Gulf state. In June, Murphy led an unsuccessful effort to force a vote on a joint resolution of disapproval to block weapons sales to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

In a Facebook post last week, Murphy shared a letter he received from the secretary of the Air Force in response to a July request for details regarding the cost of the Qatari jet to American taxpayers. “Today I got a reply. 100 words. Telling Congress to screw off,” Murphy said. “Can’t wait for a Democratic Senate!”