Qatar orders Iranian diplomats to leave country within 24 hours

Qatar has expelled key Iranian military and security officials on Wednesday, sharply escalating tensions in the Gulf following recent missile strikes on critical energy infrastructure.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said it had declared the military and security attaches at the Iranian embassy, along with their staff, “persona non grata” and ordered them to leave the country within 24 hours.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs delivered an official note to the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the State, stating that Qatar considers both the military attache and the security attache at the embassy, in addition to the staff of the two attache offices ‘persona non grata’, and requests that they leave the country within a maximum period of (24) hours,” the ministry said.

The ministry explained that this decision comes in response to repeated Iranian targeting and the blatant aggression against the State of Qatar, which violated its sovereignty and security, in a flagrant breach of the principles of international law, United Nations Security Council Resolution No. (2817), and the principles of good neighborliness, the foreign ministry said.

Qatar Declares Iranian Embassy Military, Security Attaches “Persona Non Grata”

Doha | March 18, 2026

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs delivered an official note to the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the State, stating that Qatar considers both the military attache… pic.twitter.com/yQachiM7Pk

— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Qatar (@MofaQatar_EN) March 18, 2026

Missile strikes on the Ras Laffan Industrial City on Qatar’s north coast on Wednesday caused damage to a gas-to-liquids facility and early on Thursday sparked “seizeable fires and extensive further damage” to several liquefied natural gas facilities, QatarEnergy said in a statement.