Qatar expels Iranian military, security officials hours after attack on Ras Laffan oil hub, asks them to leave in 24 hours

The diplomatic fallout came after Iranian missile targeted the Ras Laffan Industrial City,

• Qatar expels Iranian military after missile strikes
• Iranian attacks heavily damage Qatar's Ras Laffan gas hub
• Qatar warned of more steps to safeguard its sovereignty and security

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Hours after Iranian strikes targeted the main gas facility of Qatar Energy, Doha expelled key Iranian military and security officials along with their staff from its territory and asked them to leave in 24 hours.

In a post on X, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it delivered an official note to the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the State, stating that Qatar considers both the military attache and the security attache at the embassy, in addition to the staff of the two attache offices "persona non grata", and requests that they leave the country within a maximum period of (24) hours.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs further said the decision came in response to repeated Iranian targeting and the blatant aggression against the State of Qatar, which violated its sovereignty and security, in a flagrant breach of the principles of international law, United Nations Security Council Resolution No. (2817), and the principles of good neighborliness.

The ministry stressed that the continuation of this hostile approach by the Iranian side will be met with additional measures by Qatar, in a manner that ensures the protection of its sovereignty, security, and national interests.

The ministry affirmed that the State of Qatar reserves the right to take all necessary measures to protect its sovereignty and security, in accordance with the provisions of international law.

The diplomatic fallout came after Iranian missile strikes targeted the Ras Laffan Industrial City, a critical gas processing hub in Qatar that caused 'extensive damage'. The attack on the gas processing hub came in the wake of Tehran’s warning of retaliatory attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure.

Qatar’s Interior Ministry said emergency teams were responding to a fire “following an Iranian targeting,” while QatarEnergy confirmed the site had been the 'subject of missile attacks' and had suffered “significant damage.”

“Emergency response teams were deployed immediately to contain the resulting fires. All personnel have been accounted for and no casualties have been reported at this time,” Qatar Energy said in a post on X.

Qatar warned the strikes marked a “dangerous escalation, a flagrant violation of the State's sovereignty, and a direct threat to its national security and the stability of the region.”

Iran earlier issued an evacuation warning for several oil and gas facilities across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar, including the Ras Laffan Refinery, in retaliation for Israeli strikes on its South Pars gas field.