Iran’s President Urges Muslim Nations to Cut Ties with Israel

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Monday called on Muslim countries to sever relations with Israel as Arab and Islamic leaders convened in Doha for an emergency summit responding to an unprecedented Israeli strike on Hamas members in Qatar, according to AFP.

"Islamic countries may cut their ties with this fake regime and maintain unity and cohesion as much as possible," Pezeshkian said before departing for the summit, expressing hope that the meeting would “conclude” on concrete measures against Israel. 

The strike — carried out by a U.S. ally on the territory of another — has drawn a wave of criticism across the region. Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, urged the international community on Sunday to reject “double standards” and hold Israel accountable, declaring that Israel’s “war of extermination” in Gaza would not succeed.

“What is encouraging Israel to continue... is the silence, the inability of the international community to hold it accountable,” he said.

The emergency gathering, hosted by Qatar, is expected to include leaders such as Pezeshkian, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas arrived in Doha on Sunday, while speculation remains over whether Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will attend.

Qatar’s foreign ministry said the summit will consider “a draft resolution on the Israeli attack on the State of Qatar.” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Al Jazeera that Israel’s actions had grown beyond the scope of the Palestine-Israel conflict.

“The biggest problem right now is Israeli expansionism in the region,” he said, stressing that Arab and Islamic countries must present a unified response.

Observers believe Gulf states will use the summit to pressure Washington to rein in Israel. Elham Fakhro, a fellow at Harvard’s Middle East Initiative, told AFP leaders are likely to seek “stronger U.S. security guarantees, on the basis that Israel’s actions expose the inadequacy of current assurances and have undermined U.S. credibility as a security partner.”

Karim Bitar, a lecturer at Sciences Po University in Paris, described the gathering as a “litmus test” for Arab and Muslim leaders, with populations expecting “a very important signal not only to Israel but also to the United States.”

Qatar hosts the largest U.S. military base in the region and has played a key mediation role in the Israel-Hamas war alongside the United States and Egypt. Yet Israel’s strike in Doha, which targeted Hamas leaders engaged in talks over a new U.S.-backed ceasefire plan, has complicated those efforts and strained Washington’s position.

President Donald Trump, while sending Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Israel in a show of solidarity, admitted his administration had been caught off guard by the strike.

“Obviously we’re not happy about it. The president was not happy about it. Now we need to move forward and figure out what comes next,” Rubio said before departing for Tel Aviv.

Rubio is scheduled to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday to discuss the aftermath of the Qatar strike, Israel’s planned military push into Gaza City, and its controversial proposals to annex parts of the West Bank.

He emphasized Trump’s desire for the Gaza war to be “finished with,” meaning both the release of hostages and ensuring Hamas is “no longer a threat.”

On Sunday, Rubio joined Netanyahu at the Western Wall for prayers, later posting that the visit underscored his conviction that Jerusalem is the “eternal capital” of Israel. Netanyahu hailed the moment as evidence that the U.S.-Israel alliance has “never been stronger.”

Meanwhile, Hamas officials expressed hope the Doha summit would deliver “a decisive and unified Arab-Islamic position” against Israel’s actions, underscoring the high stakes of Monday’s gathering.