DOHA, March 10 (Reuters) – Qatar wants to strengthen its defence partnership with the United States in the wake of Iranian air strikes on Qatari territory, the foreign ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday, even as it sees the existing deal as an important deterrent.
Iran launched missile and drone attacks on its oil-producing Gulf neighbours after U.S.-Israeli strikes that killed its top leaders. The conflict disrupted output in the region and sent oil prices surging.
Qatar hosts the biggest U.S. base in the Middle East, Al Udeid Air Base, which was attacked by Iran during the war that erupted on February 28.
The spokesperson, Majed Al Ansari, told a media briefing on Tuesday the security partnership with the United States was not in question, but added that its deals with the U.S. and European countries need to be strengthened.
“The partnerships are the main stop-gap and deterrent against any attack on our country,” he added.
“When things go out of control and spiral, the result is deterrents do not work… But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have deterrents. You should strengthen these deterrents and that is exactly what are we trying to do right,” Al Ansari said.
U.S. President Donald Trump pledged in October to treat any armed attack on Qatar as a threat to the United States’ own security.
Iran has vowed to retaliate against U.S. targets in the region in case of any attack.
(Reporting by Andrew Mills in Doha and Jana Choukeir in Dubai, Writing by Nayera Abdallah, Editing by Aidan Lewis and Andrei Khalip)
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