Pentagon chief Hegseth announces Qatari Air Force facility at Idaho base

The US and Qatar person signed a missive of statement to bring a Qatari F-15 combatant pitchy contingent to a US subject base.

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has announced that the United States and Qatar person signed a missive of statement to physique a Qatari Emiri Air Force installation astatine a US Air Force basal successful the occidental US authorities of Idaho.

The announcement connected Friday came during a gathering betwixt Hegseth and Qatari Defence Minister Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani astatine the Pentagon.

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Hegseth praised Qatar’s relation successful helping to mediate Gaza ceasefire talks, with an initial phase of a woody betwixt Israel and Hamas going into effect connected Friday.

“No 1 different than President Trump could person achieved the bid that we judge volition beryllium a lasting bid successful Gaza and Qatar played a important relation from the beginning,” Hegseth said.

Sheikh Saoud, meanwhile, besides hailed the practice betwixt Washington and Doha connected the ceasefire breakthrough, which aims to extremity Israel’s two-year-long warfare successful Gaza. That struggle has near much than 67,190 Palestinians dead.

He said the statement showed what tin beryllium achieved erstwhile the US works with partners successful the region, including Egypt and Turkiye, with “courage and trust”.

Hegseth past shifted his remarks to the Mountain Home Air Force Base successful Idaho, which helium said would big a contingent of Qatari F-15s and pilots to “enhance our combined training, summation lethality, [and] interoperability”.

Qatar presently hosts the largest US Air Force basal successful the Middle East, the Al Udeid airbase. It was besides named a large non-NATO state by US President Joe Biden successful 2022.

While moving arsenic a mediator to extremity the warfare successful Gaza, Qatar has doubly been targeted successful attacks by overseas countries.

In June, Iran launched an aerial onslaught connected Al Udeid, hitting a communications dome. Tehran did not deed immoderate different sites successful Qatar extracurricular of the US base.

In September, Israel besides attacked a neighbourhood successful Qatar wherever a Hamas negotiating delegation was meeting. Among those killed was a subordinate of Qatar’s interior information force.

Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani condemned the onslaught arsenic “state terrorism”. US President Donald Trump besides criticised Israel for carrying retired an onslaught connected Qatari soil.

Weeks later, Trump signed an executive order saying Washington “shall respect immoderate equipped onslaught connected the territory, sovereignty, oregon captious infrastructure of the State of Qatar arsenic a menace to the bid and information of the United States”.

“In the lawsuit of specified an attack, the United States shall instrumentality each lawful and due measures — including diplomatic, economic, and, if necessary, subject — to support the interests of the United States and of the State of Qatar and to reconstruct bid and stability,” his connection said.