President Donald Trump signed an executive order pledging to treat any attack on Qatar as a threat to US security. The vow comes as Trump tries to repair ties with Doha following Israel’s failed assassination of Hamas leadership in Qatar.
“The United States shall regard any armed attack on the territory, sovereignty, or critical infrastructure of the State of Qatar as a threat to the peace and security of the United States,” the executive order signed Monday explains. “In the event of such an attack, the United States shall take all lawful and appropriate measures — including diplomatic, economic, and, if necessary, military — to defend the interests of the United States and of the State of Qatar and to restore peace and stability.”
The order was signed the same day Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the White House. Trump mediated a call between Netanyahu and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman.
A White House readout of the call explained that Netanyahu apologized for ordering the assassination strikes, which involved firing ten missiles into Doha. The attack failed to kill members of Hamas’s leadership, but did kill one Qatari soldier.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu expressed his deep regret that Israel’s missile strike against Hamas targets in Qatar unintentionally killed a Qatari serviceman.” The White House readout continues, ”He further expressed regret that, in targeting Hamas leadership during hostage negotiations, Israel violated Qatari sovereignty and affirmed that Israel will not conduct such an attack again in the future.”
Qatar hosts the largest US airbase in the Middle East and is a major non-NATO ally. The Israeli strike was the second time Qatar was attacked this year. In June, Iran attacked the US base in Qatar as retaliation for the US and Israeli unprovoked war on Iran.
