Both countries are on the verge of finalising “an enhanced defence cooperation agreement”, according to Rubio.
Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani met U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Doha on Tuesday, a week after Israel’s terror attack on the Gulf state.
Sheikh Tamim and Rubio discussed the strategic Qatar-U.S. relations as well as last week’s Israeli attack on Doha and the ongoing genocidal war in the Gaza Strip. Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani also met Rubio.
“This [Israeli] attack, of course, expedites the need for a renewed strategic defence agreement between us and the United States. It’s not something new per se, but certainly expedited,” Majed Al-Ansari, Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson, told a weekly press briefing, as quoted by Reuters.
Israel carried out the attack on Qatar on September 9, targeting a residential site where members of Hamas’s political office were discussing the latest Gaza ceasefire proposal presented by U.S. President Donald Trump.
The attack killed five lower-rank members of Hamas and 22-year-old Corporal Bader Al-Humaidi Al-Dosari, a member of Qatar’s Internal Security Force (Lekhwiya).
Sheikh Tamim described the attack as “blatant, treacherous and cowardly” during the Emergency Arab-Islamic Summit in Doha on Monday, which marked his first public address since the assault.
The assault on Qatar shocked the world, especially with the Gulf state being a central mediator—alongside the U.S. and Egypt—between Hamas and Israel since October 7, 2023.
Qatar also hosts the Al-Udeid Airbase, the largest U.S. military post in the region, which Trump visited during his Gulf tour in May.
Trump repeatedly denied having prior knowledge on the attack as multiple reports pointed to the U.S. knowing about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans.
Rubio told the press before departing from Tel Aviv to Doha that the U.S. and Qatar have been working on an enhanced defence cooperation agreement.
“We have a close partnership with the Qataris. In fact, we have an enhanced defence cooperation agreement, which we’ve been working on, we’re on the verge of finalising,” Rubio said.
Rubio also underlined the importance of Qatar’s mediation efforts, which secured the release of at least 150 captives. However, Netanyahu continued to threaten Hamas’s leaders abroad and to target Qatar again.
“If any country in the world can help mediate it, Qatar is the one. They’re the ones that can do it,” he added.
Trump, Rubio and Vice President JD Vance met Qatar’s prime minister in New York on Friday, where the Israeli attack was at the top of the agenda.
Meanwhile, on Monday, Trump told the press in the White House that Netanyahu “won’t be hitting Qatar” again, despite the latter’s remarks to the contrary.
