Doha, Qatar: Leaders and top officials from across the Arab and Muslim world convened in Doha on Monday for an emergency summit of the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), amid growing fury over Israel’s deadly strike in the Qatari capital.
The summit, which follows closed-door meetings of foreign ministers a day earlier, is expected to deliver the strongest collective response in years to Israel’s actions.
Opening the gathering, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani issued one of his sharpest rebukes of Israel to date, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of seeking to turn the Arab region into an Israeli sphere of influence.
“This is a dangerous illusion,” the Emir said, warning that Israel had repeatedly rejected opportunities for peace. He recalled the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, a Saudi-brokered plan endorsed by the Arab League that offered Israel full diplomatic recognition in exchange for withdrawal from territories occupied since 1967.
We held the preparatory ministerial meeting for the Emergency Arab-Islamic Summit in Doha, to discuss the treacherous Israeli attack on the State of Qatar. We appreciate the stances of Arab & Islamic countries & their solidarity with Qatar in the face of this Israeli aggression. pic.twitter.com/CYVNnH1DGL
— محمد بن عبدالرحمن (@MBA_AlThani_) September 14, 2025
“If Israel had accepted the Arab Peace Initiative, it would have spared the entire region countless tragedies,” Sheikh Tamim said.
Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani also condemned the Israeli strike, which killed five Hamas members and a Qatari security officer last week. The attack narrowly missed a Hamas delegation that had been in Doha for talks over a US proposal to end Israel’s two-year war on Gaza.
“We appreciate the solidarity of brotherly Arab and Islamic countries and friendly nations that condemned this barbaric Israeli attack,” Sheikh Mohammed said. He stressed that Qatar intended to pursue “legitimate legal measures … to preserve the sovereignty of our country”.
Emergency Arab-Islamic Summit in Doha on 15 September 2025, to discuss the recent Israeli aggression against the State of Qatar. The Emergency Summit will reaffirm the solidarity of Arab and Islamic countries with the State of Qatar. #Arab_Islamic_Summit https://t.co/KTULxS1bhQ
— OIC (@OIC_OCI) September 15, 2025
Pakistan has emerged as one of the strongest advocates for a decisive outcome from the summit. Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar said that the world’s Muslims were “all eyeing this summit, waiting to see what comes out of it.”
Dar called for a clear roadmap and criticised the United Nations Security Council for failing to deliver results. Asked about practical measures, he suggested that Arab states had already discussed a combined security force and noted that “a nuclear-powered Pakistan obviously would stand as a member of the Ummah … It will discharge its duty.”
Defence Minister Muhammad Asif went further, warning that firm action was required and no country should assume it would remain untouched by the Gaza war.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, addressing reporters before departing for Doha, urged Muslim countries to cut all ties with Israel. “Islamic countries can sever ties with this fake regime and maintain unity and cohesion,” Pezeshkian said, adding that he hoped the summit would deliver concrete measures.
