How Qatar Helped Broker the Israel-Iran Cease-Fire
Majed al-Ansari, the foreign ministry spokesman, declared that his country had the right to respond to the attack a few hours earlier. At the same time, he called for de-escalating the new war between Israel and Iran and for cease-fire negotiations.
But it seems that Qatar had already begun to help to broker a truce, engaging quietly with Israel's American allies and with the Iranian government behind the scenes.
'What happened shows Qatar can take a hit but be pragmatic,' said Sanam Vakil, the director of the Middle East and North Africa Program at Chatham House.
After the United States intervened on the side of Israel and bombed Iranian nuclear sites on Sunday morning, Iran responded by attacking the military base in Qatar.
Qatar knew in advance that an attack was planned on the Al Udeid Air Base and almost all missiles fired at the site were intercepted, according to Maj. Gen. Shayeq Misfer al-Hajri, the Qatari deputy chief of staff for joint operations.
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