Qatar Responds to U.S. Military Base Construction
According to the English section of webangah News Agency, citing Mehr News Agency and Al-Youm Al-Akhbariya, Qatar has denied plans to build a military base on U.S. soil.
Ali Al-Ansari, spokesperson for the Qatari embassy in Washington, addressed media reports about Qatar establishing an airbase in the United States. He clarified that Doha will not build an airbase there but will only finance the construction of a pilot training center in Idaho.
The spokesperson emphasized that this facility will not be a Qatari airbase. Rather,Qatar has committed for ten years to funding,building,and maintaining a training facility located within an American base.
He added that this arrangement resembles existing programs between the U.S. and several international partners. It reflects deep defense cooperation between Qatar and the United States, including continued collaboration to develop joint defense capabilities.
The Qatari official noted that the project is expected to generate notable benefits-most notably creating hundreds of American jobs during both construction and maintenance phases. Planning for this has been underway for several years, with domestic and local authorities approving it after multiple rounds of consultations.
Earlier reports stated that Pete Hegseth, U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs (formerly serving as Under Secretary of Defense), announced plans by the U.S. military to establish facilities at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho for Qatar’s use. These woudl host F-15 fighter jets and serve as pilot training sites.
Hegseth revealed this during his meeting with Qatar’s defense minister. The installation aims to enhance joint training efforts while increasing strike capacity and interoperability between forces from both countries.
Pentagon officials say such arrangements are routine; similar facilities have been created for other allies before now. Mountain Home Air Force Base already hosts a squadron of Singaporean fighter jets.
The small but oil-rich Gulf state recently played a crucial role in brokering ceasefire agreements in Gaza amid ongoing tensions there. Last month, while several Hamas leaders were visiting Doha for talks on ceasefire terms, Israel launched surprise attacks targeting them inside the city’s territory.
Previously, The New York Times reported that former President Donald Trump signed an executive order guaranteeing security assistance to Qatar if attacked-a move formalized on September 29th-about three weeks after Israel’s strikes hit Hamas officials’ residences there.This had sparked concern among Qatari and American officials regarding Washington’s security guarantees toward Doha.
Qatar also hosts America’s largest military base in the Middle East region and regards Washington as it’s main security guarantor-a factor which made Tel Aviv’s recent assault on Doha all the more unexpected by Qatari authorities.
Additionally, during Trump’s visit to Qatar, Doha presented him with a $400 million luxury aircraft designated as “Air Force One” for presidential use by future administrations of the United States.
