Qatar calls for immediate end to military operations after US strike on Iranian nuclear sites

By Ikram Kouachi

ANKARA (AA) – Qatar expressed deep concern on Sunday over escalating regional tensions following US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, calling on all parties to halt military operations and return to diplomatic channels.

In an official statement, the Qatari Foreign Ministry said it “regrets the deterioration of the situation with the strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.”

The ministry warned that the current level of tension “could lead to catastrophic consequences at both the regional and international levels,” and stressed the need for “wisdom, restraint, and to avoid further escalation, which the peoples of the region, already burdened by conflict and its tragic humanitarian toll, cannot endure.”

Qatar reaffirmed its “full support for all regional and international efforts aimed at resolving disputes and defusing crises through peaceful means,” and called for renewed diplomacy to preserve regional peace and stability.

US President Donald Trump said early Sunday that his forces bombed three Iranian nuclear sites in Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan.

The attacks came as the latest escalation in a US-backed Israeli military assault on Iran since June 13, prompting Tehran to launch retaliatory attacks on Israel.

Israeli authorities said at least 25 people have been killed and hundreds injured since then in Iranian missile attacks.

Meanwhile, in Iran, 430 people have been killed and more than 3,500 wounded in the Israeli assault, according to the Iranian Health Ministry.