4 minutes of readingUpdated: Mar 10, 2026 01:07 am IST
As Qatar’s defense forces have been fighting Iranian missile and drone attacks since the start of the US-Israel war, the Middle Eastern nation’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al Thani was angered by the neighboring country’s actions, calling them a “great sense of betrayal.”
In his first media interview since the war began, Al Thani told Sky News: “It’s a huge feeling of betrayal.” Visibly furious, he called the Iranian attacks on the Gulf countries a “dangerous miscalculation” and said: “Barely an hour after the start of the war, Qatar and other Gulf countries have been attacked. We made it clear that we were not going to participate in any war against our neighbors.”
With its Qatar-owned Ras Laffan energy facility hit by Iranian drones and civilians remaining cautious amid hostilities, Al Thani said the country had entered what he called “a very difficult period.” He also praised the army and air force for their professionalism.
As the war rages on, oil prices rose above $100 a barrel in a record jump and stock markets fell, forecasting higher costs of living and repercussions on the global economy. Warning of a oil crisisOn Friday, Qatari Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi told the Financial Times that all producers in the region could soon be forced to halt production and that prices could reach $150 a barrel.
Doha long kept diplomatic channels open with Tehran and the continued attacks came as a surprise. “All the attacks on the Gulf countries… we never expected this from our neighbor,” Al Thani said. “We have always tried to preserve a good relationship with Iran, but the justifications and pretexts they use are completely rejected.”
Al Thani stressed that a military escalation would only aggravate the crisis and that the responsibility to back down falls on all parties, including the United States and Iran. “We continue looking for de-escalation,” he stated. “They are our neighbors, it is our destiny.”
To get out of the crisis, diplomacy is the way forward, according to Al Thani. “The Iranians’ miscalculation in attacking the Gulf countries has destroyed everything,” he said, but insisted that the response now must be to resume negotiations.
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While Iran claimed that the attacks were directed against military infrastructure, Al Thani rejected this saying: “25% of the attacks target civilian facilities. What does this have to do with war? What do they want to achieve?”
Talking about the global impact of the West Asian conflict, he said that what happens in the Gulf will not stay in the Gulf.
His reaction came on a day when Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s son Majtaba Khamenei was named Iran’s new Supreme Leader. The 56-year-old Shiite cleric has been declared unacceptable by US President Donald Trump. The Republican president, who is in the world’s biggest diplomatic gamble, has sought Iran’s unconditional surrender.
Washington initially said its goal was to destroy Iran’s missile capabilities and nuclear program, but Trump later said the war could only end with a docile Iranian government. Israel had said it would kill whoever succeeded the elder Khamenei unless Iran ended its hostile policies.
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