Iran sends five planes of food to Qatar amid concerns of shortages

Iran has sent five planes of food to Qatar, Iran's national carrier told said today, days after Gulf countries cut off air and other transport links to the emirate.

"So far five planes carrying perishable food items such as fruit and vegetables have been sent to Qatar, each carrying around 90 tonnes of cargo, while another plane will be sent today," Iran Air spokesman Shahrokh Noushabadi told AFP. "We will continue deliveries as long as there is demand" from Qatar, Noushabadi added, without mentioning if these deliveries were exports or aid. Three ships loaded with 350 tonnes of food were also set to leave an Iranian port for Qatar, the Tasnim news agency quoted a local official as saying.

The port of Dayyer is Iran's closest port to Qatar. In the biggest diplomatic crisis in the region in years, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, plus Egypt and Yemen, on Monday announced they were cutting all ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting extremism.

Iran has urged Qatar and neighbouring Gulf countries to engage in dialogue to resolve their dispute. Kuwait has taken on the role of mediator, last week sending its emir to Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, Moscow on Saturday called for dialogue between Qatar and its neighbours in the Gulf, promising help in mediating the crisis, as Russia's foreign minister met his Qatari counterpart. "We have observed with concern the news of this escalation," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in opening remarks of his meeting with Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani in Moscow.

"We cannot be happy in a situation when the relations between our partners are worsening. We are in favour of resolving any disagreements through… dialogue." Qatar is reaching out for support abroad as it has fallen out with its Arab neighbours, who accuse it of sponsoring extremist groups and resent its ties to the Muslim Brotherhood movement and sponsorship of Al-Jazeera network.