Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman had dinner with US President Donald Trump in New York on Friday following a meeting with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington, three days after an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in Doha.
Steve Witkoff, US special envoy to the Middle East, was also present at the dinner, but no details of either meeting were released by US officials.
“Great dinner with POTUS. Just ended,” Qatar's deputy chief of mission, Hamah Al Muftah, said on X.
Friday's discussions were expected to focus on the Israeli attack and the status of talks for a ceasefire in Gaza, which lie in tatters after the Doha strike. Arab and Gulf states have reacted angrily to the attack, with a host of leaders and officials converging on Doha in recent days in a show of solidarity with Qatar.
A source briefed on the Qatari Prime Minister's hour-long meeting with Mr Vance and Mr Rubio at the White House told Reuters they discussed Qatar's future as a mediator in the region and defence co-operation in the wake of the Israeli strike.
The Qatar News Agency said Mr Vance expressed appreciation for Doha's “tireless mediation efforts and its effective role in bringing peace to the region” and stressed Qatar's position as a “reliable strategic ally of the United States of America”.
Sheikh Mohammed affirmed that Qatar “will take all measures to protect its security and safeguard its sovereignty in the face of the blatant Israeli attack”, it said.
The Qatari Prime Minister's visit to the US follows an Israeli strike against leading Hamas figures in Doha, a move that drew swift international criticism. The UN Security Council condemned the attack in a statement agreed to by all 15 members, including the US – a staunch ally of Israel.
Tuesday’s unprecedented strikes on a Gulf state sent shock waves through a region long considered to be insulated from conflict.
Sheikh Mohammed, who is also Qatar's Minister of Foreign Affairs, told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that Israel went “beyond any borders, any limitations” with the strike. “Israel is trying to rearrange the region by force,” he said.
Doha announced that it will host an emergency Arab-Islamic summit on Sunday and Monday to discuss Israel's attack, as countries in the region consider a collective response.
Dr Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE President, said Israel’s “reckless, belligerent actions” would not bring peace, but instead fuel “violence, extremism and chaos”. On Friday, the UAE summoned the Israeli deputy ambassador in the country, David Ahad Horsandy, to convey the UAE's condemnation and denunciation.
In Washington, Mr Trump has walked a delicate line between two major allies, saying the unilateral action by Israel “did not advance Israel or America’s goals”.
He said he was “unhappy” about the strike but also suggested that “this unfortunate incident could serve as an opportunity for peace”. Though Israel is an ironclad US ally, Washington also counts Doha as a strong Gulf ally.
Qatar, along with Egypt, has been mediating talks between Hamas and Israel to end the war on Gaza. Doha has long hosted the political office of Hamas. The Qatari Prime Minister said his country “will continue our humanitarian and diplomatic role without any hesitation in order to stop the bloodshed”.
Hamas has said its senior officials survived the strike, but five of its members were killed, and a Qatari security force member also died. However, the militant group, which has sometimes only confirmed the assassination of its leaders months after their deaths, offered no immediate proof that the senior figures were alive.
Funerals for the six killed were held on Thursday. Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Tamim, attended the service.
Israel has remained defiant over the attack. Its UN ambassador Danny Danon told the UN Security Council that “this strike sends a message that should echo across this chamber. There is no sanctuary for terrorists, not in Gaza, not in Tehran, not in Doha. We will act against the leaders of terror wherever they are hiding,” he said.
