PRIME MINISTER, WELCOME BACK TO THE PROGRAM.

>> THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR HAVING ME.

>> TELL US ABOUT THIS AMAZING DEAL THAT YOU WERE INSTRUMENTAL IN HELPING SO SEAL.

WHAT WAS IT, OR WHAT WAS THE MOMENT THAT YOU KNEW IT WAS GOING TO BE POSSIBLE TO REACH A DEAL BETWEEN IRAN AND THE UNITED STATES TO FREE THE PRISONERS?

>> WELL, FIRST OF ALL, I WOULD LIKE TO CONGRATULATE THE FAMILIES OF THE PRISONERS, TO HAVE THEM BACK AND SEEING THEM AND THEY HOPE ALL OF THEM ARE IN GOOD HEALTH.

WE ALWAYS BELIEVE -- WE ALWAYS HAVE A FAITH AND BELIEVE THAT WE CAN HELP, WE CAN -- WE CAN FACILITATE, ESPECIALLY HUMANITARIAN SITUATIONS.

WE -- WE'VE BEEN THROUGH A LOT OF CHALLENGES THROUGHOUT THE NEGOTIATIONS, HONESTLY, NONE OF THE PARTIES WAS EASY IN THE NEGOTIATION, BUT WE TRIED OUR BEST IN ORDER TO CREATE A TRUST BETWEEN US AND THEM AND CREATED A TRUST BETWEEN THEM, IN ORDER TO HAVE THIS DEAL HAPPENING.

IT TOOK US MONTH UNTIL WE REACHED THIS AGREEMENT, BUT WE HAVE SEEN THE DESIRE AND THE DETERMINATION OF BOTH PARTIES TO IMPLEMENT THEIR AGREEMENT IN GOOD FAITH, THAN IS SOMETHING WE COMMEND BOTH PARTIES FOR DOING IT.

>> GOODISH FAITH.

THEY WEREN'T EVEN TOGETHER, RIGHT?

THEY WEREN'T IN THE SAME HOTELS, YOU HAD TO RELAY BACK AND FORTH.

>> WELL, EVERYTHING HAS ITS OWN CHALLENGES, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, RESULTS WHAT MATTERS, PRISONERS ARE BACK WITH THEIR FAMILIES.

>> AS A HUMAN BEING, DID YOU FIND IT EMOTIONAL WHEN THE WHOLE WORLD SAW ON LIVE TELEVISION THE QATARI AIRWAYS PLANE TOUCH DOWN?

>> WE WERE SO PROUD, DEFINITELY.

ALL OF US ON ALL LEVELS FROM HIS HIGHNESS, MYSELF, THE ENTIRE GOVERNMENT, THE PEOPLE OF QATAR, WE ARE SO PROUD THAT QATAR COULD MAKE SUCH A THING.

>> MANY PEOPLE LIKE TO THINK THAT THIS COULD BE THE BEGINNING OF -- BETWEEN THE U.S. AND IRAN.

THE U.S. HAS RULED THAT OUT, MAYBE IRAN HAS, AS WELL.

DO YOU THINK THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF A BUILDING BLOCK?

PERHAPS IT COULD LEAD TO A NEW NUCLEAR DEAL?

>> WELL, LOOK, CHRISTIANE, I CANNOT CLAIM THIS WILL LEAD TO A NUCLEAR DEAL, BUT IT'S GOING DEFINITELY LEAD TO A BETTER ENVIRONMENT.

WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS MEDIATING BETWEEN COUNTRIES, MEDIATING IN DIFFERENT ISSUES FOR DECADES NOW, AND IN OUR EXPERIENCE, WE KNOW THAT IN COMPLEX SITUATIONS, YOU NEED TO UNLOCK IT BY BUILDING THE CONFIDENCE BETWEEN THE PARTIES, AND I BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY, ACTUALLY, WAS A GREAT BUILDING BLOCK FOR REBUILDING THE CONFIDENCE BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES.

I HOPE BOTH COUNTRIES ARE BELIEVING THAT THIS WILL LEAD TO BETTER ENVIRONMENT TO GO FOR AN ENTIRE AGREEMENT ON THE NUCLEAR ISSUE, AND ANY OTHER OUTSTANDING ISSUE.

AT THE END OF THE DAYS, WHAT WE WANT FOR OUR REGION, STABILITY.

>> CAN I JUST ASK YOU, YOU KNOW THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE IRAN/SAUDI ARABIA REPROACHMENT, THROUGH CHINA, THEN EVEN BIGGER, PEOPLE HAVE SAID, WELL, MAYBE IRAN AND MAYBE SAUDI ARABIA AND ISRAEL, MAYBE THERE'S A HUGE, BIG MIDDLE EASTERN DEAL TO BE DONE.

DO YOU SEE THE POSSIBILITY OF THAT IN THE NEAR FUTURE?

>> WELL, DEFINITELY THE MIDDLE EAST AND ESPECIALLY WITH US IN THE REGION, WENT THROUGH THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, BEFORE THAT, WE WERE GOING THROUGH CHALLENGES, NOW WE ARE GOING IN A BETTER, POSITIVE ENVIRONMENT OF REPROACHMENT.

WE HEAR ALSO, YOU KNOW, ABOUT ISRAEL, BUT FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE, AS STATE OF QATAR, WE SEE THAT -- WE DON'T HAVE A WAR WITH ISRAEL, AS A REGION.

THE REASON THAT WE HAVE THE CONFLICT WITH ISRAEL IS OVER THE OCCUPATION OF THE PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES.

AND WHAT WE ARE ASKING FOR IS THE STATE FOR THE PALESTINIANS, AND THAT'S WHAT BASICALLY BEING MENTIONED IN OUR PEACE INITIATIVE THAT CAME OUT IN 2001 AND ALL ARAB COUNTRIES HAS ADOPTED THAT.

WE BELIEVE TO BRING PEACE TO THE REGION, THE STARTING POINT SHOULD BE BETWEEN THE ISRAELIS AND THE PALESTINIANS.

NORMALIZATION AGREEMENT HAPPENING BETWEEN COUNTRIES IS THEIR SOVEREIGN DECISION AT THE END OF THE DAY.

NO ONE HAS THE RIGHT TO QUESTION THAT, AS NO ONE HAS THE RIGHT TO QUESTION OUR SOVEREIGN FOREIGN POLICY DECISIONS, BUT WE THINK THAT FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE, THE ISRAELI ISSUE IS ONLY THE ISSUE OF THE PALESTINIANS.

>> AND YET IT SEEMS THAT THAT ISSUE IS OFF THE FRONT BURNER.

NOBODY IS PAYING ANY ATTENTION TO THAT.

AND I WANT TO ASK YOU, MANY, EVEN AMERICANS I'VE TALKED TO, FEEL THAT THERE IS A -- A SORT OF SUCKING SOUND AS THE UNITED STATES PULLS OUT OF THE MIDDLE EAST.

DO YOU FEEL THAT?

THE U.S. IS PULLING BACK ITS INFLUENCE AND RESPONSIBILITY?

>> WELL, I THINK THAT WITH WHAT WE HAVE SEEN IN THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS, WE'VE SEEN MORE AND MORE ENGAGEMENT WITH THE U.S. WE SEE THEIR COMMITMENT TO THE DEFENSE OF THE GULF REGION, AND THE JOINT TRAININGS ARE ONGOING, AND WE HAVE A GREAT MILITARY RELATIONSHIP WITH THE U.S. WE'VE BEEN DOING A LOT OF WORK TOGETHER HOSTING MORE THAN 10,000 U.S. MEN AND WOMEN IN UNIFORMS, AND WE DIDN'T SEE ANY CHANGES IN THAT HAPPENING.

WE BELIEVE THAT, YES, THE WORLD IS, I MEAN, THEY ARE BUSY WITH OTHER THINGS -- >> LIKE CHINA, THERE'S A SHIFT TOWARDS CHINA.

>> THERE'S ALSO THE RUSSIAN/UKRAINIAN WAR SOMETHING BIG THAT'S HAPPENING TO THE ENTIRE WORLD.

I WON'T CALL IT REPRIORITIZING, BUT IT'S TAKING -- IT'S TAKING MORE TIME, OF COURSE, FROM THEM THAN THE MIDDLE EAST.