The US and Qatar have signed a letter of agreement to bring a Qatari F-15 fighter jet contingent to a US military base
\n Idaho
\nUS Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has announced that the United States and Qatar have signed a letter of agreement to build a Qatari Emiri Air Force facility at a US Air Force base in the western US state of Idaho.
\nThe announcement on Friday came during a meeting between Hegseth and Qatari Defence Minister Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani at the Pentagon.
\nHegseth praised Qatar\u2019s role in helping to mediate Gaza ceasefire talks, with an initial phase of a deal between Israel and Hamas going into effect on Friday.
\n\u201cNo one other than President [Donald] Trump could have achieved the peace that we believe will be a lasting peace in Gaza, and Qatar played a substantial role from the beginning,\u201d Hegseth said.
\nDefence Minister Sheikh Saoud also hailed the cooperation between Washington and Doha on the ceasefire breakthrough, which aims to end Israel\u2019s two-year-long war in Gaza, which has killed at least 67,190 Palestinians.
\nThe minister said the agreement showed what can be achieved when the US works with partners in the region, including Egypt and Turkiye, with \u201ccourage and trust\u201d.
\nHegseth then shifted his remarks to the Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho, which he said would host a contingent of Qatari F-15 fighter planes and pilots to \u201cenhance our combined training, increase lethality, [and] interoperability\u201d.
\nAli al-Ansari, Qatar\u2019s media attache to the US, later clarified that the facility \u201cwill not be a Qatari airbase\u201d.
\n\u201cQatar has made an initial 10-year commitment to construct and maintain a dedicated facility within an existing US airbase\u201d to offer \u201cadvanced training and to enhance interoperability in defending and advancing our shared interests around the world,\u201d al-Ansari said in a statement.
\n\u201cThe arrangement is similar to existing programs between the United States and several of its international allies,\u201d al-Ansari said, adding that the project \u201cwill lead to wide-ranging benefits including the creation of hundreds of jobs for Americans during both the construction and maintenance phases\u201d of the site.
\nSeveral European countries, as well as Singapore, Turkiye and NATO, have similar facilities in the US.
\nQatar currently hosts the largest US Air Force base in the Middle East, the Al Udeid airbase. Qatar was also named a major non-NATO ally by former US President Joe Biden in 2022.
\nWhile working as a mediator to end the war in Gaza, Qatar has twice been targeted in attacks by foreign countries. In June, Iran launched an air strike on Al Udeid, hitting a communications dome. Tehran did not hit any other sites in Qatar outside of the US base.
\nIn September, Israel attacked a neighbourhood in Qatar where a Hamas negotiating delegation was meeting. Among those killed was a member of Qatar\u2019s internal security force.
\nQatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani condemned the attack as \u201cstate terrorism\u201d. President Trump also criticised Israel for carrying out the attack on Qatari soil.
\nWeeks later, Trump signed an executive order stating that Washington \u201cshall regard any armed attack on the territory, sovereignty, or critical infrastructure of the State of Qatar as a threat to the peace and security of the United States\u201d.
\n\u201cIn the event of such an attack, the United States shall take all lawful and appropriate measures \u2013 including diplomatic, economic, and, if necessary, military \u2013 to defend the interests of the United States and of the State of Qatar and to restore peace and stability,\u201d his statement said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The US and Qatar have signed a letter of agreement to bring a Qatari F-15 fighter jet contingent to a US military base Idaho US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has announced that the United States and Qatar have signed a letter of agreement to build a Qatari Emiri Air Force facility at a US […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":508134,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-508119","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n