Qatar expels Iranian diplomats as Gulf energy facilities take heavy fire
Qatar has expelled Iran's military and security diplomatic attachés and condemned what it called a "flagrant violation of its sovereignty"
DOHA, Qatar (MNTV) – Qatar has expelled Iran’s military and security diplomatic attachés and condemned what it called a “flagrant violation of its sovereignty” after Iranian missile strikes caused significant damage to the Ras Laffan Industrial City — the world’s largest liquefied natural gas facility — as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran escalated sharply into a direct assault on Gulf energy infrastructure.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry declared the Iranian embassy’s military and security attachés persona non grata along with their staff, ordering them to leave the country within 24 hours.
“Qatar considers this assault a dangerous escalation, a flagrant violation of its sovereignty, and a direct threat to its national security,” the ministry said.
“The Iranian side continues its escalatory policies that are pushing the region toward the brink and drawing countries not party to this crisis into the conflict zone.”
Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that Iranian strikes on Ras Laffan — located 80 kilometers northeast of Doha and responsible for roughly 20% of the world’s LNG supply — caused fires resulting in significant damage to the facility.
Qatar’s Ministry of Interior said the fire had been preliminarily brought under control and that no casualties were reported. However, QatarEnergy, the world’s largest LNG producer, later said several other LNG facilities had also been attacked, “causing sizeable fires and extensive further damage.”
The facility had previously suspended LNG production following an earlier attack on March 2, which also struck a water tank at a power plant in Mesaieed Industrial City.
Saudi issues warning
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud issued a pointed warning to Tehran at a press conference Thursday following a meeting of Arab and Islamic foreign ministers in Riyadh.
Describing Iran’s targeting of Gulf neighbors as premeditated and systematic rather than improvised, he said: “The level of accuracy in some of this targeting indicates that this is something that was premeditated, preplanned, preorganised and well thought out.”
He warned that Gulf states possess “very significant capacities and capabilities that they could bring to bear should they choose to do so,” and that the patience being exhibited is “not unlimited.” He declined to specify what would trigger a defensive response, saying it would be unwise to telegraph that to Tehran, but urged Iran to “recalculate quickly and stop attacking their neighbours.”
Prince Faisal also warned that even after the war ends, restoring trust with Iran will take a very long time. “Iran has been building this strategy over the last decade and beyond,” he said.
“This is not something that is a reaction to an evolving circumstance. This has been built into their war planning: targeting their neighbours and using that to put pressure on the international community.”
He added: “If Iran doesn’t stop immediately, I think there will be almost nothing that can re-establish that trust.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said he had spoken with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and U.S. President Donald Trump following the attacks, calling for an immediate moratorium on strikes targeting civilian infrastructure, particularly energy and water supply facilities.
“Civilian populations and their essential needs, as well as the security of energy supplies, must be protected from military escalation,” Macron said.
Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately one-fifth of the world’s oil and LNG passes daily, has already sent energy prices soaring since the war began on February 28.
The direct targeting of Ras Laffan and other Gulf energy facilities marks a severe further escalation, threatening the infrastructure that supplies both Asian and European markets and raising the prospect of a much broader regional conflict.
The attacks on Qatar formed part of a broader Iranian retaliatory campaign against Gulf energy infrastructure, carried out in response to an Israeli strike on Iran’s South Pars gasfield — the world’s largest, located off Iran’s Bushehr province.
Iran’s IRGC had warned in advance that facilities in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE would face retaliation.
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