Qatar expels Iranian embassy officials after strike on gas facility

Qatar has declared Iran’s military and security attachés, along with staff in both offices at the Iranian Embassy, personae non grata and ordered them to leave the country within 24 hours. The decision follows Iranian missile attacks on Ras Laffan Industrial City.

In a statement Wednesday, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said it delivered a formal note to Iran’s embassy in Doha and said the decision followed repeated Iranian attacks against Qatar, including what it described as a grave assault that violated the country’s sovereignty and security.

Earlier, QatarEnergy, the state-owned energy company, said Ras Laffan Industrial City had come under missile attack and that emergency crews were sent to contain fires. It said extensive damage was caused, but all personnel were accounted for and no casualties were reported.

Qatar later condemned the strike on Ras Laffan as a dangerous escalation and said it amounted to a direct threat to national security and regional stability.

Earlier Wednesday, Al Jazeera reported that Iranian authorities had threatened to target five oil and gas facilities in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. The outlet said the threat was carried in a statement published by Iran’s semiofficial Tasnim news agency.

The threat was issued in retaliation for an Israeli strike on Iran’s South Pars, the world’s largest natural gas field.