Qatar demands Iran halt threats to shipping after LNG tanker attack

Qatar condemned an Iranian attack on a Qatari vessel near the Strait of Hormuz, calling on Tehran to immediately halt actions threatening maritime security and global energy supplies.

In a statement on X, Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said the targeting of the Qatari-owned LNG carrier Al Rekayyat as it was transiting near the strategic waterway constituted “an unacceptable attack on the security and safety of international maritime navigation,” Anadolu Agency reports.

He said the attack also threatened global energy supplies and amounted to “a grave and explicit violation of international law,” particularly the rules guaranteeing freedom of navigation and safe passage through international waterways.

“We demand that the Islamic Republic of Iran immediately cease all practices that undermine regional security or threaten the safety of international maritime navigation and refrain from endangering global energy supplies and the resources of the countries of the region in pursuit of narrow interests,” Ansari said.

He added that Qatar holds Iran “fully legally responsible” for the attack and for any resulting damage and consequences.

The Al-Rekayyat vessel was reportedly among two commercial vessels struck near the Strait of Hormuz by Iranian missiles while transiting the waterway late Monday, causing significant damage but no casualties.

Iran's state broadcaster IRIB, citing unnamed sources, claimed that a Qatari oil tanker attempting to transit the Omani route through the Strait of Hormuz with US Navy support was targeted after ignoring repeated warnings from Iranian forces.

The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's most important energy chokepoints, carrying a significant share of global oil and liquefied natural gas exports from Gulf producers.

By Vafa Guliyeva