Qatari PM Calls Netanyahu a “War Criminal,” Vows to Continue U.S.-Iran Mediation

DOHA: Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani has called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “war criminal,” while stressing that Doha will continue its mediation efforts despite rising regional tensions.
In an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan on Tuesday, asked whether he considers Netanyahu a war criminal, he said what has been done in Gaza amounts to war crimes and that whoever is responsible is a war criminal. He said hospitals and schools were targeted and that nothing could justify it. He also accused Netanyahu of attacking Qatar politically to divert attention from his own and his government’s conduct.
Sheikh Mohammed renewed Qatar’s condemnation of Israel’s September 9, 2025 strike on Doha, which targeted Hamas officials while Qatar was engaged in mediation. The attack killed five Hamas members and a Qatari security officer. He called it an unprecedented attack on a mediator.
He said Qatar would keep prioritizing diplomacy, arguing that behind-the-scenes engagement is the most effective way to make progress, and that Doha is doing its best to advise the U.S. government and Iran on reaching a solution. Ending the war, he said, requires resolving three issues: Iran’s nuclear program and sanctions, freedom of passage through the Strait of Hormuz, and regional security arrangements involving Iran and the Gulf Cooperation Council states. Any regional security framework, he added, should rest on dialogue, non-interference and non-aggression, with greater economic cooperation.
Also on Tuesday, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said Doha continues its mediation and is relaying messages between the U.S. and Iran. He expressed concern over further military escalation and said Qatar seeks a peaceful resolution.