US says Qatar to build air force facility in Idaho

On Friday, Hegseth said he was “proud that today we’re signing a letter of acceptance to build a Qatari Emiri Air Force Facility at the Mountain Home Airbase in Idaho”.

“The location will host a contingent of Qatari F-15s and pilots to enhance our combined training, increase lethality, interoperability, it’s just another example of our partnership.

“You can count on us,” Hegseth told al-Thani.

The Pentagon chief did not say how many Qatari F-15s would be based at the Idaho facility, and when it would become operational.

Last month, President Trump signed an executive order pledging to use all measures – including the US military – to defend Qatar.

The order amounts to an extraordinary security pact between America and a key Arab ally, almost mirroring aspects of a Nato alliance.

The move came after Israeli air strikes targeted Hamas leaders in Qatar’s capital Doha on 9 September, leaving several lower-level members of the Palestinian group dead, along with a Qatari security official.

Qatar hosts Washington’s biggest military base in the Middle East – the al-Udeid.

The base – home to the US military’s headquarters for all air operations in the region – was attacked earlier this by Iran in retaliation for American strikes against its nuclear sites.