Qatar’s ex-premier says escalation brings little to the US, but Israel stands to gain from a longer war
A senior member of Qatar’s ruling family and veteran statesman warned on Saturday that the coming days will prove decisive, cautioning that failure to resolve the Israeli-US war on Iran could push the region into a prolonged escalation.
Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, also known as HBJ, served as Qatar’s prime minister from 2007 to 2013 and as foreign minister from 1992 to 2013.
“What is happening in the Gulf has become a war in every sense of the word,” warned HBJ in post published on X.
“The situation has grown more complex over the past two days with the entry of Ansar Allah [Houthis] – one of the factors behind this complexity, but certainly not the only one,” he added.
A billionaire and influential voice across regional capitals, HBJ has increasingly acted as an unofficial barometer of concerns many in Qatar avoid voicing publicly to sidestep angering the mercurial US President Donald Trump.
“If we do not see a resolution in the coming days, the situation could shift towards a longer escalation than initially expected,” he said.
“It is clear that some actors want this war to continue, fully aware that its consequences will not directly affect them, aside from limited missile attacks,” said HBJ.
‘Uncertainty remains over whether the decision lies in Washington or in Israel on this issue. The coming days may make this clearer’
— Former Qatari premier, Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani
“I am referring here to Israel, whose ports remain open to the Mediterranean and the Red Sea regardless of the circumstances,” he added.
HBJ warned that the Gulf region now faces a “suffocating blockade” linked to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which could trigger “serious economic repercussions” not only for the region but for the global economy.
Earlier this month Qatar’s Ras Laffan liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility suffered extensive damage after it was hit with missiles, causing a surge in global gas prices.
The Iranian attack knocked out 17 percent of Qatar’s LNG export capacity, causing an estimated $20bn in lost annual revenue. He added that repairs will take three to five years.
“This raises the most important question: who benefits from this collapse, and why?,” asked HBJ.