Qatar’s prime minister has warned that an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities would “entirely contaminate” the waters of the Gulf and threaten life in Qatar, the UAE and Kuwait.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani warned that an attack on Iran’s nuclear sites would leave the Gulf with “no water, no fish, nothing … no life”.
Sheikh Mohammed urged a diplomatic solution to avoid a military strike on Iran that would trigger a “war that will spread all over the region”.
“There is no way that Qatar would support any kind of military step … we will not give up until we see a diplomatic solution,” he said.
Qatar’s prime minister specifically mentioned his country, Kuwait and the UAE, and said some of Iran’s nuclear sites were closer to Doha than they were to Tehran.
Qatar assessed several years ago that it was at risk of running out of potable water after three days in the event of an attack on Iran’s nuclear sites, Sheikh Mohammed said.
The Gulf Arab state, where temperatures reach 50C in the summer, has since built 15 of the world’s largest concrete water reservoirs to boost its emergency water supply.
Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and its supreme leader said on Saturday that Iran would not be bullied into negotiations.
Iran’s only operating nuclear power plant is on the Gulf coast at Bushehr.
