Qatar rejects Iran’s claim missile strikes targeted only U.S. interests

London — Qatar on Wednesday rejected Iran’s assertion that recent missile attacks were directed solely at U.S. interests and not at Qatari territory, after Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani raised the issue in a call with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, according to a statement from Qatar’s foreign ministry.

Araqchi told Sheikh Mohammed that the Iranian strikes were aimed at U.S. assets and were not intended to target Qatar, the Qatari foreign ministry said in a post on social media platform X.

Sheikh Mohammed “categorically rejected” that characterization and called for an immediate halt to Iran’s attacks, the ministry said.

During the conversation, Sheikh Mohammed said Qatar would confront any aggression and reaffirmed the country’s right to self-defence, according to the ministry’s statement.

Qatar hosts major U.S. military facilities, including Al Udeid Air Base, the largest American base in the Middle East, making the Gulf state a key strategic partner for Washington in the region.

Sheikh Mohammed also stressed that Doha remains committed to dialogue and diplomacy conducted in good faith, the ministry said.

Qatar has frequently positioned itself as a regional mediator, maintaining diplomatic channels with a range of actors across the Middle East while hosting U.S. military forces on its territory.