On June 23 (local time), Arab countries strongly condemned Iran's retaliatory attack targeting U.S. military bases located in Qatar and other countries.
Saudi Arabia, the leading Sunni Muslim country, issued a statement through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, saying, "We condemn and denounce in the strongest terms Iran's attack against our brother nation Qatar," and added, "This is unacceptable and unjustifiable under any circumstances."
Saudi Arabia reaffirmed its commitment to solidarity and support with Qatar, stating, "We will mobilize all our capabilities to support any measures Qatar takes."
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) also issued a statement through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, saying, "We strongly condemn the targeting of Al Udeid Air Base in our brother nation Qatar by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of Iran," and pointed out that this constitutes "a clear violation of Qatar's sovereignty and airspace."
In addition, Egypt expressed concern and called for efforts to prevent further escalation of the situation, while Jordan stated that Iran's attack constitutes a violation of Qatar's sovereignty and urged a return to negotiations. Oman and Lebanon also condemned Iran's attack.
Qatar, in response to the attack on the U.S. military base located on its territory, issued a statement in the name of a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, saying, "This is a violation of Qatar's national sovereignty and airspace, as well as a clear breach of international law and the UN Charter," and confirmed that "Qatar retains the right to respond directly in a manner proportional to the nature and scale of this clear act of aggression."
Iran explained that the attack was aimed at the United States and not at Qatar. The Supreme National Security Council of Iran stated in a statement that "Iran destroyed the U.S. Air Force base in Qatar, but this did not pose any danger to Qatar or its people." The BBC reported that Iran reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining and further developing its warm and historic ties with Qatar.
On this day, Iran launched missiles targeting U.S. military bases located in Qatar and other countries in retaliation for the U.S. airstrikes on three nuclear facilities on June 21.
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