Sheikh Tamim Meets Britain’s Defense Minister To Expand Defense Cooperation Against Iranian Threat

Qatar meets Britain

The Middle East Online said curbing the Iranian threat took center stage at a meeting between Sheikh Tamim and Britain’s defense minister, with the two discussing ways to expand defense cooperation including joint exercises and exchange of intelligence and technical expertise. The report added that Haley’s visit coincided with the United Kingdom’s decision to send troops and combat reinforcements to the Middle East, described as a "direct field response" to the wave of Iranian attacks with ballistic missiles and drones. It also said Iranian attacks targeted vital civilian facilities in Gulf states, including airports and ports, leaving civilian casualties and substantial structural damage.

The article described the discussions as focusing on reducing rising tensions since late February and reviewing mechanisms to ensure regional stability to confront threats to civilian infrastructure. It further stated that Tehran justifies its attacks as targeting "American bases and interests" in response to the ongoing military escalation since February 28.

Pentagon civilian harm cuts

In a separate thread involving Iran-related fighting, Al Youm Al Sabea reported that the Pentagon faced scrutiny over civilians after a newspaper said it was dismantling a program legally required to prevent civilian casualties in U.S. military operations and to respond to incidents.

The article said the inspector general’s report stated: “As a result, the Department of War may not be in compliance with its federally mandated policy on civilian losses and harms.”

It also said the program was created by Lloyd Austin in January 2022 after years of deadly U.S. air campaigns in Yemen, Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan, and that Air Wars estimated drones and U.S. airstrikes killed at least 22,000 civilians, possibly up to 48,000, in the twenty years since the September 11, 2001 attacks.

The report tied the timing to Iran by saying the United States carried out strikes on Iran later that month, after two senior officials proposed scaling back or abolishing the program.

It further described a dispute over accountability by quoting Wes J. Bryant saying, “I think they kept a façade of the division because Hegseth was facing criticism for illegal operations.”

Iranian NGOs condemn attacks

Iran International’s One-Word Lawyers Network framed Iran’s internal crackdown as “extermination of thousands of protesters,” saying police, military, security forces, the Basij and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps used light and heavy weapons after a public directive from the leader of the Islamic Republic to crack down hard on the protests. The network said the killings were “out of sight of the world” and, according to international norms, constituted a flagrant violation of fundamental human rights, while also asserting that the right of the Iranian people to legitimate defense of their lives and property is protected. In a separate statement carried by IRNA, more than 561 Iranian non-governmental organizations condemned renewed military attacks by Israel and the United States against Iran, describing them as targeting defenseless people and the country’s vital infrastructure.

IRNA said the attacks occurred in the early hours of Saturday, 9 Esfand, and reported that from the start of these attacks up to now 29 provinces were involved and at least 172 cities have been attacked. It added that the statement put the number of martyrs at about 1,150 and said that among the dead, 165 students were killed in an attack on a school in the city of Minab.

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