Qatar’s Prime Minister said that Iran’s missile and drone strikes on Gulf countries were a “dangerous miscalculation” and a “betrayal,” while urging all sides to de-escalate.
Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani has accused Iran of betraying Gulf nations after missile and drone strikes targeted countries across the region, warning that the escalation risks destabilising the Middle East and triggering global economic shockwaves.
Speaking to Sky News in his first media comments since Qatar came under repeated attacks, Al Thani described Iran’s strikes on Gulf countries as a “dangerous miscalculation” and urged all sides to step back from further military escalation.
“It is a big sense of betrayal,” he said.
“Just an hour after the start of the war, Qatar and other Gulf countries were attacked. We made clear that we were not going to take part in any wars against our neighbours.”
The Qatari Prime Minister said the country had entered what he called “a very difficult period”, but praised the professionalism of the country’s defence and security forces amid the ongoing attacks.
“All the attacks on the Gulf countries, we never expected this from our neighbour,” he said.
“We have always tried to preserve a good relationship with Iran, but the justifications and pretexts they are using are completely rejected.”
Al Thani also pushed back against claims that Iran’s strikes were aimed only at military targets.
“Twenty-five per cent of the attacks are targeting civilian facilities. What has this got to do with the war? What do they want to achieve?” he said.
Despite the criticism, he emphasised that further military escalation would only deepen the crisis and that diplomatic engagement remains essential.
“We continue to seek de-escalation,” he said.
“They are our neighbours, it’s our destiny.”
He also warned that the regional escalation could have wider consequences beyond West Asia.
Describing the Iranian strikes as a miscalculation, Al Thani said the attacks had “destroyed everything”, but insisted the answer now must lie in renewed negotiations.
EXPLOSIONS HEARD IN DOHA AS IRAN STRIKES GULF COUNTRIES
Meanwhile, several explosions were heard on Monday in the Qatari capital Doha as Iran expanded retaliatory strikes across the Gulf region.
Qatar has been targeted by waves of Iranian drones and missiles since Tehran launched a sweeping retaliation campaign following US and Israeli air strikes on the Islamic Republic.
Qatar’s defence ministry said its forces intercepted a missile attack on Monday.
Elsewhere in the Gulf, Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry said the kingdom intercepted and destroyed two drones heading towards the Shaybah oil field in the southeast of the country.
Kuwait’s defence ministry said its air defences were working to intercept missile and drone attacks, while authorities earlier reported that the country had been targeted by seven missiles and five drones on Sunday.
In Bahrain, several people were injured in an Iranian drone strike on the island of Sitra, the interior ministry said.
The United States has also ordered non-emergency embassy staff and their families to leave Saudi Arabia due to security risks, the State Department said in a travel advisory.
Iran has warned that it could strike neighbouring countries if their territory is used to launch attacks against the Islamic Republic.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said Tehran “will be forced to respond” against neighbours if their territory is used to attack Iran.
IRAN APPOINTS MOJTABA KHAMENEI AS NEW SUPREME LEADER
Iran has meanwhile appointed Mojtaba Khamenei as the country’s new Supreme Leader following the death of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in US-Israeli strikes earlier in the conflict.
According to Iranian state television, the decision was made by the country’s 88-member Assembly of Experts, which selected the 56-year-old cleric as the Islamic Republic’s third supreme leader since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The announcement came nine days after strikes killed the elder Khamenei, an event that significantly escalated tensions across the region.
State media later broadcast images of a missile reportedly launched toward Israel bearing the slogan “At Your Command, Sayyid Mojtaba.”
Mojtaba Khamenei is widely seen as a hardliner closely aligned with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, which quickly pledged loyalty to the new leader.
WAR SPREADS ACROSS REGION AS OIL PRICES SURGE
The conflict has widened across West Asia, with Israel carrying out strikes on multiple targets in Iran and Lebanon.
Israeli strikes on oil facilities in and around Tehran triggered fires and thick smoke across parts of the capital, disrupting fuel distribution and prompting warnings that the air could be toxic.