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30-03-2026
DOHA/ WASHINGTON: Qatar’s prime minister has held talks with senior US officials in Washington, DC, amid the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran and fallout across the Gulf.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, who also serves as Qatar’s foreign minister, met US Vice President JD Vance and US Secretary Scott Bessent, Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday.
They reviewed ways to strengthen the “close strategic cooperation” between Doha and Washington, “especially the defence partnership in light of the conditions the region is experiencing”, the ministry said.
Both sides stressed “ensuring the sustainability of energy supplies and maintaining the continued flow of liquefied natural gas from the State of Qatar to global markets”, in a way that “supports global energy security”, it added.
Vance hailed the “robust strategic partnership”, praising Qatar’s “active role in promoting regional stability and enhancing global energy security”.
The Gulf has been in a state of heightened tension since February 28, when the US-Israeli war on Iran began, which has killed more than 3,000 people across the region, a vast majority of them in Iran and Lebanon.
Tehran has since launched drone and missile attacks aimed at Israel, as well as Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf states. Iran insists it is targeting US assets in the Gulf, but the region’s leaders have urged Iran to cease attacks as they endanger civilians.
Qatar, earlier this month, said Iranian missile attacks on the Ras Laffan Industrial City, the country’s main gas facility, caused “significant damage”.
The war has created an unprecedented global energy crisis as Iran has effectively closed off the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world’s oil passes.
On Thursday, Sheikh Mohammed also held a meeting in Washington with US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, the Foreign Ministry said.
“The meeting took place in Washington on Thursday and focused on ways to support and develop defence and security collaboration amid regional challenges,” it added.
“Both sides stressed the importance of continued coordination and consultation on regional issues to promote security and stability locally and internationally.”
On Wednesday, the Qatari Cabinet renewed its condemnation of Iranian attacks on Qatar and its neighbors, calling for an immediate halt.
Meanwhile, Qatar has said Iranian missile attacks on the Ras Laffan Industrial City, the country’s main gas facility, have caused “significant damage”.
“The State of Qatar expresses its strong condemnation and denunciation of the blatant Iranian attack targeting Ras Laffan Industrial City, which caused fires resulting in significant damage to the facility,” Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Wednesday. Qatar’s Ministry of Interior said a fire at the site had been preliminarily brought under control and that no injuries were reported.
“All personnel have been accounted for and no casualties have been reported at this time,” said QatarEnergy, the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) producer.
In a later statement early on Thursday, QatarEnergy said that several other LNG facilities had also been attacked, “causing sizeable fires and extensive further damage”.
The announcements came hours after Iran threatened to attack oil and gas facilities across the Gulf region in retaliation for an Israeli attack on its South Pars gasfield, as the fallout from the United States-Israeli war on the country continues to escalate.
Iran’s warning of attacks was directed at Qatar’s Mesaieed Petrochemical complex, Mesaieed Holding Company and Ras Laffan Refinery; Saudi Arabia’s Samref Refinery and Jubail Petrochemical complex; and the United Arab Emirates’ Al Hosn gasfield. (Int’l News Desk)
