Qatar has announced that it would not permit any attacks to be launched from its Al-Udeid Air Base against other nations, including those in the region. The base is home to the largest US military installation in the Middle East.
In an interview with state-run Qatar TV, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman stated, “The State of Qatar does not accept that attacks or wars be launched from Al-Udeid Base against countries in the region or beyond.”
The base hosts around 13,000 US troops, according to Al Jazeera.
Highlighting Qatar’s relationship with the United States, Bin Abdulrahman described it as a strategic partnership characterised by cooperation on multiple levels, while also stressing that both nations maintain full sovereignty and refrain from interfering in each other’s affairs.
This statement comes during heightened tensions in the region, particularly as Iran remains on alert for a potential Israeli military response. Tehran has attributed its 1 October missile attack to retaliation for recent assassinations of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders, as well as an Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander.
Regarding efforts to mediate a ceasefire in Gaza, Bin Abdulrahman remarked, “For more than a year, we have been mediating in the Gaza file but, unfortunately, the agreement requires two parties.”
He also mentioned Qatar’s extensive efforts with Lebanese authorities to end the ongoing conflict in Lebanon.
Since 23 September, Israel has intensified its airstrikes in Lebanon, targeting what it claims are Hezbollah positions. The strikes have resulted in over 1,500 deaths and displaced more than 1.34 million people. This escalation follows a year of cross-border skirmishes between Israel and Hezbollah and an expanded Israeli incursion into southern Lebanon that began on 1 October.