US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani on Saturday to discuss security threats and defence cooperation in the Middle East, the State Department announced.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani and Vice President of the United States of America, J. D. Vance © X
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani on Saturday to discuss security threats and defence cooperation in the Middle East, the State Department announced.
The two officials addressed "US support for Qatar's defence and the importance of close coordination to repel threats and promote stability and security in the Middle East," according to a State Department communiqué, notably without explicitly naming Iran, despite the ongoing conflict that has seen Qatari territory targeted by Iranian strikes since hostilities began on 28 February.
The meeting follows Sheikh Mohammed's separate talks with Vice President JD Vance in Washington on Friday, underlining the intensity of US-Qatari diplomatic engagement at this moment of acute regional tension.
Qatar occupies a unique and delicate position in the Middle East landscape. A close US military ally , home to Al Udeid Air Base, Washington's largest military installation in the region, it has simultaneously served as America's most trusted regional intermediary, most notably brokering ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Since the outbreak of the Iran conflict, that dual role has become significantly more complex, as Doha finds itself both a target of Iranian aggression and a potential back-channel for diplomatic outreach.
By Maher Hassan
The United Arab Emirates' air defences dealt with two drones coming from Iran on Sunday, the Defence Ministry said, the latest in renewed attacks on the oil-rich Gulf country.
Iran has sent its response to a U.S. proposal to begin peace talks to end the war, the IRNA news agency reported on Sunday, as two carriers were allowed to pass through the blockaded Strait of Hormuz.
The head of Iran's armed forces unified command met Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and received from him "new guiding measures to pursue military operations and firmly confront adversaries", the semi-official Fars news reported on Sunday.
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