Qatar says Israeli attack on Doha hastens need for updated strategic defense pact with US

Qatar said Tuesday that last week’s Israeli airstrike on Doha hastens the need for an updated strategic defense agreement with the US.

“Yes, this attack accelerates the need for an updated strategic defense agreement between the US and Qatar,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari told a press conference in Doha.

“This is not new in itself, but rather an acceleration of the process.”

In June 1992, Qatar signed a defense cooperation agreement with the US.

Early on Tuesday, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani held talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who arrived in Doha from Israel.

The Emiri Diwan said in a statement that the meeting reviewed the strategic relations between the two countries and ways to strengthen them, particularly in the defense field.

Rubio, for his part, reaffirmed Washington's security partnership with Qatar.

“We reaffirmed the enduring US-Qatar security partnership and our shared commitment to a safer, more stable region," he wrote on the US social media company X's platform.

The top diplomat thanked Qatar "for its ongoing mediation efforts to broker a peace deal between Israel and Hamas and to bring the hostages home."

Prior to his arrival from Israel, Rubio said Washington and Doha are close to finalizing an enhanced defense cooperation agreement.

The visit followed Monday's emergency Arab-Islamic summit in Doha that condemned Israel's attack and expressed solidarity with Qatar.

Qatar, alongside Egypt and the US, has been mediating efforts to end Israel's war against the Gaza Strip, which has killed almost 65,000 victims since October 2023.