New Delhi: In a major development, US President Donald Trump has signed an order under which the United States has pledged to protect Qatar from any military attack.
The development comes after Israel launched an attack on Qatar last month. Experts are now of the opinion that Trump’s security guarantee to Qatar is more than a diplomatic signal, and its impact will be seen in the coming days.
Qatar has been seeking security assurances from the US for many years, according to a report by the Israeli website Ynet. One major reason for this is that the largest American airbase in West Asia, Al-Udeid, is located in Qatar. No presidents, until now, had made any formal commitment to security, but Donald Trump has granted Qatar this guarantee of protection.
Here’s why Trump listened to Qatar
According to the officials and regional observers, there are two main reasons why Donald Trump made this decision to offer security to Qatar. The first is the attack on the US airbase in Qatar towards the end of the 12-day Israel-Iran war. The second is the Israeli airstrike on senior Hamas leaders in Qatar’s capital, Doha.
The Israeli strike on Qatar heightened unease in the Arab world, raising concerns that America was failing to protect them. Following this, Qatar sent a delegation to Washington demanding unilateral written security guarantees. Qatar’s argument was that because it became a target due to its support of US policy, Washington carried the responsibility to defend it.
Israel’s rising concern
From Israel’s perspective, America’s security guarantee to Qatar holds great significance. According to the reports, Donald Trump has directed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to publicly apologize to the Qatari Prime Minister. This has brought great embarrassment for Netanyahu, as he had been taking a tough stance on the issue.
It is also important to note that the US security commitment to Qatar could reshape Gulf dynamics. For Israel, it limits the scope of intervention with a neighbor that continues to host Hamas leaders while deepening its security ties with Washington.