Iran says strikes on US airbase ‘had nothing to do with friendly neighbour Qatar’

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei clarified that Iranian strikes on the largest Middle East airbase of the US, located in Doha, Qatar's capital, were not aimed at the neighboring country.

 He stated that the Iranian attacks on the Al Udeid Airbase in Qatar were carried out under Article 51 of the UN Charter, in response to US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

“This act of self-defence had nothing to do with our friendly neighbour Qatar as we enjoy excellent and deeply rooted relationships,” he wrote on X. 

“Iran remains fully committed to its good-neighbourliness policy with respect to the State of Qatar and other neighboring countries,” Baqaei said 

“We resolve not to let US/Israeli criminal aggressions and malign policies against Iran create division between us and the brotherly countries of the region.” he added

Earlier, The New York Times reported that Iran had informed Qatar about the attack to minimize the risk of casualties.

Following a US strike on Iran’s nuclear sites, Tehran retaliated by launching missiles at the Al Udeid US military base in Doha, the capital of Qatar. According to Trump, Iran had informed the US in advance, allowing American personnel to evacuate the base before the missiles struck.

After the attack, Trump declared that both Iran and Israel had agreed to a ceasefire. He praised Iran’s “pre-warning” as a sign of de-escalation and claimed peace had been restored.