Turkey and Qatar have signed a mutual defense agreement, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday after meeting Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani at Istanbul's Dolmabahce Palace, JNS reports. The text has not been released.
Erdogan said the deal adds "a new dimension" to the relationship and that the two countries would keep working to prevent a resumption of hostilities in the Gulf and to push the parties toward diplomacy. He did not name Iran, but Qatar has been hit repeatedly by Iranian missiles and drones since the United States and Israel went to war with the Islamic Republic in February.
The pact follows a similar mutual defense agreement among Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, signed in Mecca in August and since ratified by all three.
Qatar and Turkey have long been aligned in regional politics, including their support for the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, which has often put them at odds with Israel and with Arab states such as the United Arab Emirates. Erdogan said the talks also covered Israel's operations in Gaza, Syria and Libya.
Both countries already sit under an American umbrella. Turkey is a NATO treaty ally, Qatar was named a major non-NATO ally in 2022, and a 2025 executive order from President Trump pledged U.S. measures to defend Qatar if it is attacked. Qatar has also served with Pakistan as a mediator between Washington and Tehran.
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