On November 17, Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said during a visit to Washington that Qatar does not rule out the possibility of a Saudi-led military operation against it, according to the Iranian Alalam TV.
The Qatari foreign minister said that Qatar is well prepared for the Saudi attack. Sheikh Mohammed Al Thani added that Qatar has enough “friends” to stop Saudi Arabia from taking such steps.
“Although Qatar hopes this will not happen, Qatar is well prepared and can rely on its partners to defended it, including France, Turkey, Britain and the United States, which have a base in Qatar,” said Sheikh Mohammed Al Thani.
On November 19, Qatari Minister of State for Defense Khalid bin Mohammad Al Attiyah stressed that Qatar is ready to face a Saudi attack during an interview to the Qatari state TV. Khalid Al Attiyah revealed that this is not the first time Saudi Arabia planned to invade Qatar.
According to Khalid Al Attiyah, Saudi Arabia was massing its army on the border with Qatar between 2013-2014, and planning to launch a military operation against Qatar. However, former Saudi Arabia king Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ordered the Saudi Army to withdraw.
“In 2013\2014 I was an eye witness when Saudi Arabia king Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ordered Prince Muhammad bin Nayef [former Saudi Crown Prince] to pull off the soldiers that they massed on the border [with Qatar],” Khalid Al Attiyah said.
These Qatari statements confirm that the tension between Qatar and Saudi Arabia is still higher than ever. Many experts believe that the only thing that’s keeping Saudi Arabia from invading Qatar now it the US al-Udeid airbase in Qatar.
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