Qatar suggests Al-Udeid base cannot be used to attack Iran

Qatar has ruled out the use of its Al-Udeid airbase for launching attacks against other nations, the country's prime minister said as regional tensions mount over a possible Israeli strike on Iran.

Qatar hosts some 13,000 US troops at Al-Udeid base - the biggest US military installation in the Middle East.

"The State of Qatar does not accept launching attacks on any countries or peoples from the base of Al-Udeid," Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani told state television on Tuesday night.

"The relationship with the United States is a strategic partnership characterised by cooperation on multiple levels while emphasizing that each party enjoys full sovereignty, and neither interferes in the affairs of the other," he added.

Iran is on high alert in anticipation of Tel Aviv's response to the 1 October Iranian missile attack on several military bases in Israel - a key US ally.

The attack by Tehran was in retaliation for the recent assassinations of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders, and Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander.

Al-Thani pointed to the success of Qatari foreign policy in helping bring a truce to the war in Gaza in November last year when the Palestinian Hamas group swapped Israeli captives for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

The week-long truce was mediated by Qatar – which continues to play a key role in trying to find a ceasefire to end Israel’s war on Gaza – and Egypt and the US.

He added that stopping the war in Lebanon represents a priority for Qatar, and ongoing communications with Lebanese parties aim to stop the Israeli aggression and achieve stability.

Al-Thani explained that Qatar always chooses a mediator role with the aim of returning rights to their owners in the Arab world.