Qatar: Islamic Republic must stop irresponsible attacks in the Strait of Hormuz

On Tuesday 20 October 2026, Qatar's foreign ministry called on the Islamic Republic to stop its attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and to respect the international law of freedom of navigation. Ibrahim bin Sultan al-Hashemi, head of information at Qatar's foreign ministry, called the attacks "irresponsible", said such behaviour harms the region and its people, and said the Strait of Hormuz must remain open.

Al-Hashemi said the only way to preserve the region's security and stability is a peaceful solution at the negotiating table, and the sooner it is reached, the better. Responding to the Revolutionary Guards' threat to cut undersea internet cables, he also warned that if the internet is cut, all countries of the region, Iran included, will suffer.

The cable threat and a new IRGC claim

Qatar's warning came a day after IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebbi spoke of a "third phase" of the war and of "new geography, new targets and new weapons", naming seven major internet cables under the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz among possible targets. On Tuesday the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also claimed that two more oil tankers had caught fire and stopped after hitting mines laid by its navy; the names of the ships were not given and no independent source has confirmed the claim. The IRGC had earlier made a similar claim about a tanker hitting a mine.

Qatar's diplomacy and Tehran's position

According to al-Hashemi, Qatar's foreign minister recently spoke with his Kuwaiti, Saudi and Emirati counterparts and expressed Doha's support for all diplomatic efforts to reopen shipping freely. Sheikh Saud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatar's defence minister, said on Monday at the Doha Global Security Forum that Qatar has not cut its relations with the Islamic Republic and sees economic ties as a way to prevent a future war.

By contrast, on Tuesday the spokesman of the Islamic Republic's parliamentary National Security Commission tied the reopening of the strait to the United States accepting Tehran's announced conditions. Meanwhile the Islamic Republic's attacks on shipping have kept the price of Brent crude near $110, and the Persian Gulf states have distanced themselves from Tehran more than ever.

Qatar, itself one of the mediators in the crisis, openly called the Islamic Republic's attacks in the Strait of Hormuz "irresponsible".