“This war must be stopped immediately, because everyone knows who is the biggest beneficiary and the cause of the conflict.”
That was the message from Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Thursday, as tensions continue to rise across the region.
Speaking alongside Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Al Thani said Qatar is demanding Iran stop attacks on Gulf nations, calling the escalation dangerous and warning it is hitting civilians and threatening global energy security.
His comments come after Israel targeted Iran’s main natural gas field on Wednesday.
Tehran responded quickly, firing missiles at energy facilities across the Gulf, including sites in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar’s key gas hub, Ras Laffan.
'Aggressive and irresponsible'
Al Thani strongly condemned the strike on Qatar’s energy infrastructure, describing it as an act of sabotage.
“We touched on the attack that took place yesterday at the Ras Laffan energy facility. Unfortunately, this act of sabotage reflects nothing but an aggressive and irresponsible policy, and a dangerous escalation by the Iranian side,” he said.
“This is despite the fact that Qatar, from the very first hour after the Israeli attack on the Iranian energy facility and infrastructure, condemned that attack. Yet Iran’s response to the Israeli attack was to directly target the State of Qatar.”
Global energy concerns
The escalation is raising alarm in global energy markets.
Qatar shares the world’s largest natural gas reserve with Iran, making the region critical to global supply.
Ras Laffan is the world’s largest liquefied natural gas export facility, and disruptions there are already being felt.
European gas prices have surged to their highest levels since the conflict began three weeks ago, as concerns grow over supply.
QatarEnergy says the attacks caused extensive damage to its main energy hub in the north of the country, adding pressure to an already volatile global market.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump said in a social media post that Israel acted alone and was solely responsible for Wednesday’s strikes.
Push for de-escalation
Turkey’s Fidan went further, pointing to Israel as opening the region to what he described as a "battlefield that threatens global stability."
At the same time, he stressed that diplomacy is still ongoing.
Fidan said Turkish mediators are in contact with both Iran and the United States to push for de-escalation, adding that almost all the world wants this war to end.
