2026 Iranian strikes on Qatar

The 2026 Iran war began with the United States of America and Israel striking Iran on 28 February 2026, since the negotiations between the United States/Israel and Iran, notable cities and towns in the Arab Gulf States, Syria and Iraq have been subjected to multiple strikes by Iran, Islamic Resistance in Iraq, Houthis and Hezbollah which includes various locations throughout Qatar. 

Qatar closed its airspace on the day of the first strikes, disrupting flights from H.I.A. in its capital Doha.

Qatari government reported it shot down two Sukhoi Su-24 bombers from Iran on 2 March 2026, and several missiles have been intercepted.

## Background 
### Iran–Qatar relations 
 Among the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, Qatar is "one in a kind" as it used to maintain friendly relations with Iran in recent decades.

They share the world's largest gas field, which is the source of 80% of Qatari government revenues.

In 2010, Qatar and Iran signed a defense cooperation agreement and an internal security pact, and held joint military trainings. Meetings were held between both the then-emir of Qatar, Hamad ben-Khalifa Al-Thani and Iranian President Mahmood Ahmadinejad and supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, exchanging pledges of cooperation and friendship.

One of the demands made by fellow Sunni Arab states (Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Egypt) to Qatar during the 2017 diplomatic crisis was to reduce any ties or stop them with Iran and it's proxies, but, following strong material and diplomatic support from Iran throughout the crisis, ties only strengthened.

In 2020, following the assassination of Qasem Soleimani, Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani met Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran, discussing the "existing friendship between the two countries" and various other issues.

Qatar has also acted as a central mediator between Iranian proxies (Iran, Islamic Resistance in Iraq, Hezbollah, Hamas, and Houthis) and the Western world (inc. the U.S. and Israel) including mediating a 2023 deal between it and the United States which saw the release of five prisoners in each country and the unfreezing of US$6 billion of Iranian funds.

### Previous incidents 
During the Twelve-Day War in June 2025, Iran struck a U.S.-Israeli base in the country. 

Iranian officials warned both Saudi Arabia and Qatar in advance of the attack before launching it, which was intended to minimize damage and allow for de-escalation.

### Start of the conflict 
In late February 2026, the United States of America (U.S.A.) and Israel launched strikes on Iran to target strategic facilities and core government officials, starting a conflict that is currently ongoing. The airstrikes were announced by United States President Donald Trump shortly after, who stated that the operation was intended to impair nuclear deals with Iran that former U.S. President Barack Obama attempted to sign and change the regime following unsuccessful talks immediately prior. 

Iran retaliated shortly after, striking nations across the Persian Gulf, including Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

## Incidents 
### Iranian strikes 
On 28 February 2026, 16 people were injured by shrapnel following the interception of an Iranian missile barrage by Qatari air defenses. 

Qatar Ministry of Interior stated 66 missiles were fired in total and 100 reports detailed shraphnel falling across the nation-state, later alerted the public of the attack.

On 2 March 2026, Qatari official Majed al-Ansari stated that the Qatari military intercepted new wave of Iranian missiles that targeted locations such as Hamad International Airport, while announcing that relations between Iran and Qatar would be deteriorated. 

The same day, the Ministry of Defence in Qatar claimed that Qatari MacDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagles had downed two Su-24 bombers from Iran and intercepted multiple drone and missile strikes.

Anonymous sources told the Su-24 targeted al-Udeid Air Base and Ras Laffan Industrial City, and that the aircraft were two minutes away from reaching Qatari territory when they were downed. A search is underway to recover the crew. This was the first air-air kill for the QEAF. 

A UK Royal Air Force Typhoon shot down an attack drone directed at Qatar. 

That same day, the Qatari Ministry of Defense announced that Ras Laffan Industrial City and Mesaieed Industrial Area were struck by two Iranian drones.

On 3 March, an Iranian missile struck Al Udeid Air Base, but did not cause any casualties.

On 11 March, Qatar said that they intercepted Iranian missiles and drones overnight.

On 18 March, Iran launched strikes targeting and hitting Qatar's massive natural gas facility. Following this attack, Qatar ordered Iran's military and security attaches, along with their staff, to leave the country within 24 hours.

### Rejected claims of retaliatory strikes by Qatar 
On 3 March 2026, Channel 12 (Israel) and various western media outlets reported that Qatar participated in strikes on Iran following Iranian attempts to directly strike Doha's airport. Majed al-Ansari denied that Qatar had joined the "campaign targeting Iran".

### IRGC cell arrests 
On 4 March 2026, Qatar said it has arrested 10 people who were suspected of ties to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRCG), with two cells that operated on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, seven alleged to have spied, and Iran trained three others to use drones and "sabotage" the states.

## References