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, Oct 11 The US military is moving forward with plans to build a dedicated facility in Idaho to train pilots from Qatar, an important US ally in the Middle East, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Friday. Hegseth, who made the announcement during a visit by Qatar's defence minister, said the facility to be built at the Mountain Home Air Force Base would host a contingent of Qatari F-15s and pilots to enhance our combined training, increase the lethality, interoperability. The arrangement is not unusual. Pentagon officials noted that similar facilities have been set up for other allies for decades, and the Idaho base already hosts a fighter squadron from Singapore. But the news drew a sharp rebuke from close Trump ally and right-wing influencer Laura Loomer, who called the plan an abomination and accused the Qataris of being associated with Islamic terror organisations. No foreign country should have a military base on US soil. Especially Islamic countries, Loomer wrote in one
Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Qatar's prime minister on Friday before he visits Israel this weekend, showing how the Trump administration is trying to balance relations between key Middle East allies days after Israel targeted Hamas leaders in a strike on Doha. Despite tensions between President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Rubio will arrive in Israel on Sunday for a two-day visit. It is a show of support for the increasingly isolated country before the United Nations holds likely contentious debate on the creation of a Palestinian state, which Netanyahu opposes. Rubio also is expected to travel to a divisive archeological site in East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians claim for the capital of what they hope is an eventual independent nation. The same day his trip to Israel was announced, America's top diplomat sat down at the White House with Vice President JD Vance and Qatar's prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. There was n
President Donald Trump was trying to walk a delicate line following Israel's attack on Hamas officials in Qatar, distancing himself from the strike Tuesday but stopping short of condemning Israel for carrying out an audacious strike on the soil of another major US ally. Trump said the unilateral action directed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not advance Israel or America's goals." He offered notably muted pushback, however, even suggesting this unfortunate incident could serve as an opportunity for peace. This was a decision made by Prime Minister Netanyahu, it was not a decision made by me, Trump said on social media hours after the strikes. Trump is seeking to soothe concerns of a Gulf ally that has played a key role in mediating between the US and Iran and its proxies, including during talks with Tehran-backed Hamas as the war with Israel in Gaza grinds on. The US also has about 10,000 troops stationed at the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, an installation that se
The Pentagon on Friday acknowledged that an Iranian ballistic missile hit Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar in June during an Iranian attack after President Donald Trump downplayed the assault. The statement from Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell follows The Associated Press publishing satellite images Friday showing damage from the attack. Parnell said the strike did minimal damage to equipment and structures on the base. He added: Al Udeid Air Base remains fully operational and capable of conducting its mission, alongside our Qatari partners, to provide security and stability in the region. Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC show the geodesic dome visible at the Al Udeid Air Base on the morning of June 23, just hours before the attack. The US Air Force's 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, which operates out of the base, announced in 2016 the installation of the $15 million piece of equipment, known as a modernized enterprise terminal. Photos show a satellite dish inside of the dome, known
The State Department has lifted the shelter in place warning to Americans in Qatar that it issued earlier Monday ahead of Iranian missile launches at a US military base there in retaliation for weekend US airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. The embassy in Doha, which had also instructed official personnel to stay inside, revoked the guidance in a statement issued late Monday afternoon Washington time after nearly all of the missiles were intercepted and Iran signalled there would be no more. It noted that Qatari airspace, which had been closed earlier, remained closed and that the security situation in the country could change rapidly. Russia, China and Pakistan seek UN resolution condemning US strikes on Iran and calling for ceasefire The draft Security Council resolution, circulated to its 15 members for comments and obtained by The Associated Press, is almost certain to be vetoed by the United States in its present form. It could be changed in negotiations. It condemns in
Iran retaliated Monday for the US attacks on its nuclear sites by targeting Al Udeid Air Base, a sprawling desert facility in Qatar that serves as a main regional military hub for American forces. A US defence official says no casualties have been reported. As of this month, the US military had about 40,000 service members in the Middle East, according to a US official. Many of them are on ships at sea as part of a bolstering of forces as the conflict escalated between Israel and Iran, according to the Washington-based Council on Foreign Relations research and policy centre. Bases in the Middle East have been on heightened alert and taking additional security precautions in anticipation of potential strikes from Iran, while the Pentagon has shifted military aircraft and warships into and around the region during the conflict. The US has military sites spread across the region, including in Qatar, Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the United Arab
President Donald Trump thanked Iran for giving the US and allies early notice of Monday's retaliatory missile strike aimed at a major US military installation in the Gulf nation of Qatar. The president expressed hope that Tehran with its reprisal for the US bombardment of three key Iranian nuclear facilities had "gotten it all out of their system' and that the moment would lead to a de-escalation in the Israel-Iran war. I am pleased to report that NO Americans were harmed, and hardly any damage was done, Trump said on social media. I want to thank Iran for giving us early notice, which made it possible for no lives to be lost, and nobody to be injured. Perhaps Iran can now proceed to Peace and Harmony in the Region, and I will enthusiastically encourage Israel to do the same." The Iranian attack on US forces at Qatar's Al Udeid Air Base marked Tehran's first act of direct retaliation against the US since Trump ordered strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities. Leon Panetta, who served
President Donald Trump kept up pressure Thursday on Iran, warning Tehran that a deal over its nuclear programme or potentially airstrikes are the only two solutions to the diplomatic impasse. Speaking in Qatar before business leaders, Trump said: We'd like to see if we could solve the Iran problem in an intelligent way, as opposed to a brutal way. There's only two: intelligent and brutal. Those are the two alternatives. Trump also said that Qatar's ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, had been pushing for diplomatic deal over Iran's nuclear programme. Qatar shares a massive offshore oil and gas field that's crucial to its wealth with Iran. I said last night that Iran is very lucky to have the emir because he's actually fighting for them. He doesn't want us to do a vicious blow to Iran, Trump said. He says, You can make a deal. You can make a deal.' He's really fighting. And I really mean this: I think that Iran should say a big thank you to the emir. At another point, Tru
President Donald Trump on Thursday will visit a US installation at the centre of American involvement in the Middle East as he uses his four-day visit to Gulf states to reject the interventionism of America's past in the region. Trump plans to address troops at Qatar's al-Udeid Air Base, which was a major staging ground during the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and supported the recent US air campaign against Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis. The president has held up Gulf nations like Saudi Arabia and Qatar as models for economic development in a region plagued by conflict as he works to entice Iran to come to terms with his administration on a deal to curb its nuclear programme. Trump has also used his trip to announce plans to recognise the government of Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa and to ease sanctions on the war-torn country. The US has deployed more than 1,000 troops in Syria for years to suppress a return of the Islamic State group. Trump heaped praise on al-Sharaa who was
President Donald Trump urged Qatar on Wednesday to use its influence over Iran to persuade the country's leadership to reach an agreement with the US to dial back its rapidly advancing nuclear programme. Trump, who is visiting the Gulf nation as part of a three-country Mideast swing, made the appeal during a state dinner held in his honour by Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Qatar, over the years, has played the role of intermediary between the US and Iran and its proxies, including during talks with Tehran-backed Hamas as its 19-month war with Israel grinds on. I hope you can help me with the Iran situation, Trump said during remarks at the formal dinner. It's a perilous situation, and we want to do the right thing." Trump wants Iran to stop backing militant proxy groups The appeal to Qatar came after Trump told leaders at a Gulf Cooperation Council meeting earlier Wednesday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, that he wants to make a deal," but Tehran must end its support of p