Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with the Qatari prime minister at the White House on Friday, days before an emergency summit of Arab states in response to Israel’s deadly strike targeting Hamas leaders in Doha this week.
The Israeli attack on a residential compound in Doha, the capital of Qatar, a key American ally that hosts the biggest U.S. military base in the Middle East, has unsettled Gulf States that have long seen Washington as their main security guarantor. The strikes in Doha have also further complicated efforts to reach a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, which Qatar was helping to mediate.
The discussions between Mr. Rubio and the Qatari prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, are likely to focus on the military strikes and could also include talks about a new U.S.-Qatar defense deal.
President Trump signed a “letter of intent” with Qatar about such a defense deal in May that could see the emirate spend billions of dollars on more American military equipment, according to the White House. After Israel launched the attack in Doha, Mr. Trump said on social media that he wanted Mr. Rubio to finalize an agreement.
The Hamas leaders targeted by the Israeli attack were meeting to discuss a new cease-fire proposal backed by the Trump administration at the time of the strike. The attack killed six people, including a Qatari security officer.
The White House talks come a day after Sheikh Mohammed addressed an emergency meeting at the U.N. Security Council in New York about the Israeli bombing in Doha. Council members unanimously condemned the Israeli attack, in a statement that was endorsed by the United States, which typically refrains from criticizing Israel.
Sheikh Mohammed told the meeting that Israel had crossed a line and it had now “become impossible to predict” what the country might do next.
Mr. Trump has distanced himself from the Israeli strike, saying that the decision to bomb a residence in Qatar was made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. Mr. Trump said he was “very unhappy” about the incident and that the strikes did “not advance Israel or America’s goals.”
The attack has also spurred anger across the Persian Gulf. The United Arab Emirates’ Foreign Ministry said on Friday that it had summoned one of the top Israeli diplomats in Abu Dhabi to denounce the attack.
Earlier this week, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, president of the United Arab Emirates, visited Doha on a state visit along with his powerful national security adviser, Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed.
The emergency summit of Arab leaders will take place in Doha on Sunday.
Ismaeel Naar is an international reporter for The Times, covering the Gulf states. He is based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
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