LONDON: Qatar is pressing ahead with efforts to ease the crisis between the US and Iran, its foreign ministry said on Tuesday, as tensions remain fueled by continued hostilities and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Ibrahim bin Sultan Al-Hashmi, director of the ministry’s media and communications department, said both sides had responded positively to Qatar’s mediation efforts. “Diplomacy is ongoing and will continue, and we will not lose hope,” he told a press conference. “We cannot say whether an agreement is near or far. What we can confirm is that efforts will continue until we reach that moment.” Despite recent media reports of an imminent strike, Al-Hashmi said mediation was continuing and both sides had spoken positively about a diplomatic solution. “The mediator is focusing on the glimmer of hope and on ensuring that no window for a solution is left unopened,” he said. “We see that mediation efforts are still ongoing, and there is a positive language from both sides.” The diplomatic push comes as tensions between Washington and Tehran have intensified in recent days. Al-Hashmi warned that the approaching winter and the strait’s continued closure were raising the costs of the crisis worldwide, particularly for vulnerable populations. “Countries around the world are facing an energy crisis, and the continued closure of the strait is exacerbating this crisis,” he said. “We must therefore make every possible effort to bring it to an end and restore freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz as soon as possible.”