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Qatar PM Calls US-Israel War on Iran an 'Earthquake'

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Qatar's PM Sheikh Mohammed told a UN General Assembly event the US-Israel war on Iran was an 'earthquake' and pledged $38bn for domestic infrastructure.

Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani has described the economic fallout from the US-Israel war on Iran as "an earthquake" whose shock waves reached far beyond the Middle East. He called on states to respect one another's sovereignty as a condition for lasting security in the region and warned against renewed "cycles of escalation."

He spoke on Sunday in New York City at the opening of an event tied to the UN General Assembly and hosted by the Qatar Economic Forum. Sheikh Mohammed, who also serves as Qatar's foreign minister, said the region needs a "framework in which sovereignty is respected" in which no state can pose a "threat to another."

The prime minister said the conflict had challenged basic assumptions about security and stability. Its effects, he argued, did not stop at the borders of the Middle East. "When so much is being disrupted, what can still be relied upon?" he asked, framing the crisis as a test of what governments and investors can count on.

Sheikh Mohammed said that during the height of the conflict, discussions repeatedly circled back to the same underlying worry. "Almost every conversation began with security and de-escalation, then turn[ed] to energy supplies, shipping routes, and with our investments, plans will continue," he said. "These were different expressions of the same question."

He said Qatar had come through the test to the "foundations" of its economy and its security, while acknowledging that the continuing conflict was still weighing on the region. He rejected the idea that stability could rest on one-sided arrangements. "Permanent security cannot be built through arrangements that leave any state permanently exposed to insecurity," he said. "We must address the sources of tensions and build confidence."

$38bn Infrastructure Pledge

Alongside the security message, Sheikh Mohammed set out a shift in Qatar's investment approach at home. He pledged more than $38bn in spending on Qatari infrastructure over the next five years. The plan is intended to draw in private investors and to signal that the country's economy remains resilient despite the surrounding turmoil.

The domestic focus marks a change in emphasis for a state long known for large overseas investments. By channeling funds into projects inside Qatar, the government is presenting the spending program as evidence that its own footing is solid even as the wider region absorbs the aftershocks of the war.

Sheikh Mohammed paired that optimism with a frank acknowledgment. He conceded that the ongoing conflict was having a real impact on the region, tempering the message of resilience with a recognition of the pressures still in play.

Mediation and the UN Week Ahead

Qatar's sovereignty message is expected to feature again in the days that follow. Gulf leaders are due to meet US President Donald Trump on Tuesday during the General Assembly, a session where the same themes of de-escalation and regional security are likely to be raised.

Separately on Sunday, Qatar's Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said his government's mediation efforts were continuing. Speaking to US media in New York, he said Qatar was working to restart talks between Tehran and Washington aimed at ending the US-Israel war on Iran. The comments underscored Doha's role as a go-between for parties that are not talking directly.

The General Assembly's main session runs from Monday to Friday. The state of the Middle East and its wider global consequences are expected to dominate speeches and diplomacy throughout the week, from energy markets and shipping to the security of individual states.

Sheikh Mohammed's remarks placed Qatar at the intersection of those concerns. As a mediator seeking to reopen dialogue, an investor reassuring markets and a Gulf state pressing for a security framework built on respected sovereignty, Doha used the opening of the UN week to argue that the region cannot return to stability through force alone. Addressing what he called the "sources of tensions," the prime minister said, was the only durable path out of the crisis.

Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman, US-Israel war on Iran, UN General Assembly, Qatar infrastructure investment, Middle East security, Qatar Economic Forum, Iran mediation

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