Qatar’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, will be visiting New York and Washington on Friday and will meet US officials, Politico reported on Thursday, citing a person familiar with his visit.
According to the report, Al Thani will discuss this week’s Israeli strike in Doha which targeted Hamas’s leaders and the status of ceasefire talks in Gaza.
Al Thani is expected to meet President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, according to Politico.
A source close to Trump’s national security team said Rubio has also spoken in recent days with Al Thani, about prioritizing a plan to expand Qatar’s defense cooperation agreement with the US.
Trump told reporters on Tuesday that he was “not thrilled” by the Israeli strike targeting Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar.
“I'm not thrilled about it. I'm not thrilled about the whole situation. It's not... not a good situation,” Trump said when asked about the Israeli strike.
“But I will say this: We want the hostages back. But we are not thrilled about the way that went down today,” he added.
On Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump expressed disapproval of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to strike Hamas targets inside Qatar, calling the move “not wise”.
The remarks were made during what the paper described as a heated phone call between the two leaders on Tuesday, shortly after the attack.
Senior administration officials cited by the Journal said Netanyahu defended the operation, explaining that he had a brief window to act and seized the opportunity. Netanyahu reportedly emphasized the urgency of the moment in justifying the strike.
Later that same day, the report said, a second conversation between Trump and Netanyahu was described as cordial. During that exchange, Trump asked whether the attack had achieved its objectives.