Saudi and Qatari defence ministers discuss co-operation after US security pledge to Doha

Saudi Arabia’s Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman said on Thursday that he spoke by phone with Qatar’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Affairs Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman.

Prince Khalid wrote in a post on X that the two discussed the “fraternal relations between our two brotherly countries in the defence field and ways to strengthen them” and reviewed regional and international developments of common concern.

The call came one day after US President Donald Trump gave Qatar an unprecedented security guarantee, with conditions similar to Nato's Article 5. Under the order, Washington pledged to defend Qatar, including through military action, if the country was attacked.

“The United States shall 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,” the order said.

“In the event of such an attack, the United States shall take all lawful and appropriate measures – including diplomatic, economic and, if necessary, military – to defend the interests of the United States and of the State of Qatar and to restore peace and stability.”

The move followed an Israeli strike on Doha last month that targeted Hamas leaders. The attack, condemned by all Gulf states, sparked alarm over US security commitments in the region. Gulf nations said they viewed the strike on Doha as an attack on the region. A Qatari security officer was killed in the strike. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman later affirmed his "support for Qatar in all measures it will take".

It was the second time Qatar came under attack this year. In June, during the 12-day Israel-Iran war, Tehran struck Al Udeid Air Base – which hosts thousands of US personnel – in retaliation for American attacks on its nuclear sites.

The upgraded US guarantee was seen as reinforcing American credibility in the Gulf. Observers described it as a historic shift in US-Gulf security relations.

Al Udeid Air Base is the largest US military facility in the Middle East and serves as the forward headquarters of US Central Command, making Doha a key partner for defence and regional mediation.

The language of diplomacy in 1853

Treaty of Peace in Perpetuity Agreed Upon by the Chiefs of the Arabian Coast on Behalf of Themselves, Their Heirs and Successors Under the Mediation of the Resident of the Persian Gulf, 1853
(This treaty gave the region the name “Trucial States”.)

We, whose seals are hereunto affixed, Sheikh Sultan bin Suggar, Chief of Rassool-Kheimah, Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon, Chief of Aboo Dhebbee, Sheikh Saeed bin Buyte, Chief of Debay, Sheikh Hamid bin Rashed, Chief of Ejman, Sheikh Abdoola bin Rashed, Chief of Umm-ool-Keiweyn, having experienced for a series of years the benefits and advantages resulting from a maritime truce contracted amongst ourselves under the mediation of the Resident in the Persian Gulf and renewed from time to time up to the present period, and being fully impressed, therefore, with a sense of evil consequence formerly arising, from the prosecution of our feuds at sea, whereby our subjects and dependants were prevented from carrying on the pearl fishery in security, and were exposed to interruption and molestation when passing on their lawful occasions, accordingly, we, as aforesaid have determined, for ourselves, our heirs and successors, to conclude together a lasting and inviolable peace from this time forth in perpetuity.

Taken from Britain and Saudi Arabia, 1925-1939: the Imperial Oasis, by Clive Leatherdale