Rising tension in Middle East, Qatar summons Iranian ambassador over missile attack

There is rising tension in the Middle East, threatening unity and causing seeming disaffection among the Arab countries.

The Qatari Foreign Ministry on Tuesday disclosed it has summoned the Iranian ambassador in Doha to reiterate its condemnation of Iran’s attack targeting of a military base in the Gulf country.

On Monday evening, Iran carried out a retaliatory missile attack on the U.S. military’s al-Udeid base in Qatar, which came days after the U.S. struck three key nuclear sites in Iran in support of Israel.

Qatar told the ambassador that this violation is inconsistent with the principle of good neighbourliness and the close relations between Qatar and Iran, as Qatar has always been an advocate of dialogue with Iran and has made strenuous diplomatic efforts in this regard, according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry.

Earlier, Doha said it sent a letter to the United Nations Security Council, informing the members and UN Chief António Guterres of the extremely dangerous escalation, which poses a direct threat to regional peace and security.

Qatar also urged the Security Council to fulfill its responsibilities and take urgent measures to impose an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire throughout the Middle East to prevent the region from sliding into further dangerous escalation.

The al-Udeid base, which normally hosts around 10,000 soldiers and civilian personnel, according to reports, had been previously evacuated.

Qatar re-opened its airspace after closing it shortly before the attacks.

Bahrain and Kuwait also closed their airspace as a precautionary measure, but reopened it a short time later.

All three countries host U.S military facilities. (Dpa/NAN)