Qatar offered Iran a "secret deal" before the Islamic Republic's war with the United States and Israel, in which they offered to halt gas production in return for the promise of no Iranian strikes on Qatari energy infrastructure, The Washington Post reported on Friday.
The report cited Middle Eastern and Western officials as saying that the aim of the deal was for Qatar to protect its Ras Laffan gas complex from Iran's attacks.
The site was ultimately hit by an Iranian missile attack in March, the Washington Post reported, causing significant damage to the plant.
According to officials, Qatar's offer to stop gas production was meant to raise global energy prices, thereby increasing pressure on the US and Israel to stop the war.
“You will achieve your objectives without striking us,” one official said of Qatar's message to the Iranians.
A regional security officer told the Washington Post that Qatar likely sought "to avoid damage that would probably take 10 years to recover," with the deal's details identified through intelligence on communications between unnamed Iranian officials.
An official described the report as an example "of how hedging works behind the scenes with Gulf states and their communications with Iran.”
Ras Laffan closed in March
The officials added that Qatar closed the Ras Laffan plant in early March but never received any confirmation from Iran regarding the arrangement.
The Washington Post reached out to Qatar for comment, which denied the deal's existence, saying the plan's closure was due solely to security and safety concerns.
“Any suggestion that operational decisions relating to energy production were, or have ever been, made in coordination with Iran, for Iran’s benefit, or to influence the course of the war is categorically false,” Qatar’s international media office replied, calling the report an attempt "to sabotage ongoing efforts to mediate an end to the conflict, damage Qatar’s reputation and undermine the strategic partnership between Qatar and the United States.”
One Qatari official acknowledged to the Washington Post that the country had “urged Iran not to attack in general,” but reiterated that no such negotiations had taken place, saying they would have set "a very dangerous precedent."
He further said that the Islamic regime "has always been a threat, even before the Islamic revolution,” describing the war as a “nightmare scenario.”
Former ambassador: Qatar in 'survival mode'
Former US ambassador to Qatar Timmy Davis said the country's actions since the start of the Israel-Hamas war amount to a "survival mode."
“Last year they were attacked by Israel," said Davis. "This year, they are being attacked by Iran.”
Amid reports that Qatar may have fabricated or exaggerated damage to the Las Raffan facility as a pretext for its closure, Qatar's media office told the Washington Post that the claims were "baseless."
Later in March, Iran attacked Qatari energy infrastructure a second time, the report noted, following Israeli strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure.
Qatari Energy Minister Saad Sherida al-Kaabi described the strikes as an attack "on global energy security and stability," adding that repairs would take "three to five years."