Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that the U.S. and Qatar are nearing a defense agreement following an Israeli strike targeting Hamas officials in the Qatari capital Doha last week.
Rubio made the remarks ahead of his travel to Qatar, which was announced last-minute while the secretary was already in Israel.
“We have an enhanced defense cooperation agreement which we’ve been working on and we’re on the verge of finalizing,” he told reporters.
Rubio’s travel to Israel came amid strained ties between Israeli Prime MInister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Trump, who has criticized Israel’s decision to strike inside Doha as not in America’s interest.
Qatar has served as the primary mediator between Hamas and Israel over efforts to achieve a ceasefire to nearly two years of war since Hamas launched a terrorist attack against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The Trump administration has pushed a deal to halt the fighting and secure the release of 48 hostages, living and dead, which Hamas kidnapped on Oct. 7.
Qatari officials have criticized Netanyahu’s decision to target Hamas for assassination inside Doha as killing ceasefire talks, and described the Israeli leader as “unhinged” and a “megalomaniac” with hegemonic ambitions in the region.
Despite the U.S. being Israel’s closest ally, Qataris said they want to deepen military ties with the U.S. as a deterrent to Israeli military action.
Rubio on Tuesday underscored that the U.S. views Qatar as a valuable security partner and praised their mediation efforts.
“We have a close partnership with the Qataris … We want them to know how much we appreciate and respect all the time and work and effort they put in in the past to these negotiations, and we hope they’ll re-engage despite everything that’s happened. We know they’re upset about it,” Rubio said.
