Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has told the Qatari Emir that Tehran is ready for talks with Arab nations to reach a "real agreement toward peace and brotherhood."

Rouhani's website quoted him as saying in a phone conversation with Qatar's ruler, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, that the Muslim world is beset by divisions and should take steps "toward peace and brotherhood."

"In this direction we are ready for talks aimed at reaching a real agreement," Rouhani was quoted as saying.

The report added that the Qatari Emir said in response that talks between Iran and the Arab states of the Persian Gulf should continue.

Majority Shiite Iran and predominantly Sunni Saudi Arabia and the UAE supporting opposite sites in the conflicts in Syria, Yemen and elsewhere in the Middle East.

On Friday, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates signaled frustration at Qatar after its state media published purported remarks by Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani criticizing Gulf rhetoric against Iran and suggesting tensions between the emir and U.S. President Donald Trump.

Qatar said the remarks, published late on Tuesday, were fake and that the news agency that ran them had been hacked in an apparent attempt to misrepresent Sheikh Tamim's views.

But Gulf Arab countries including Saudi Arabia allowed their state-backed media to run them throughout the day on Wednesday, infuriating Doha and triggering a war of words in regional media.

On Thursday Qatar's foreign minister told reporters Doha wanted to maintain "strong and brotherly relations with GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries."

The latest tensions came days after Gulf Arab leaders met Trump at a Riyadh summit of Muslim nations.