TEHRAN- In the aftermath of Israel’s recent airstrike on Doha, which targeted Hamas leaders under the shadow of U.S. military presence, questions are rising over Washington’s role in regional affairs. Analysts say the attack exposes a repeated pattern of deception, echoing previous strikes on Iran and Yemen, and highlights the danger posed by American bases in the Persian Gulf.

In an exclusive interview with the Tehran Times, political commentator Munir Daair offers a stark critique of U.S. and Israeli strategies, describing the Doha summit as largely symbolic while regional threats continue unabated. He warns that Muslim states’ inaction—despite $20 billion in annual trade with Israel—has emboldened Tel Aviv, and urges practical steps, including freezing trade, closing airspace, and ending diplomatic ties, to halt further aggression.

The analyst also calls for a unified Arab-Iranian-Turkish security arrangement, emphasizing that Palestine is a political issue over stolen land, not a religious one. Without decisive action, the region remains vulnerable to repeated cycles of violence.

The following is the text of the interview:

How do you assess the significance of the recent emergency summit in Doha, convened by Qatar with Arab and Muslim leaders in response to Israel’s attacks? What impact might it have on regional diplomacy and security?

The conference itself was significant. It is the results that bothers me. Although not entirely surprising, yet very disturbing nevertheless.

Qatar’s role seems pivotal in hosting and leading this summit. How do you view Qatar’s foreign policy strategy in the current West Asian dynamics, particularly regarding its support for Hamas and the Palestinian cause?

I think Qatar and it’s fellow PGCC countries have been served a very big wakeup call. What I and many others have been warning about for a long time has happened. The U.S. has not only betrayed Qatar but the entire PGCC and has demonstrated clearly that it cannot be trusted. 

The Zionist regime’s attack could not have happened without a U.S. green light and the reports coming out show that Donald Trump not only knew about it but actually gave the go ahead. With that reality, it is evident that the U.S. military base in Al Udeid, Qatar was used to coordinate the attack. That is why Qatar’s multibillion dollar American made air defences went silent during the attack. They were shut down to facilitate the attack, and you don’t need to be a genius to know who was responsible for the shutdown at that critical moment. Those American military bases in the region are the most potent threat not only to the countries that host them but to the security of the entire region. And the attack on Qatar is evidence of how dangerous the bases are. One does not allow a snake to live in one’s bedroom.   

That attack was a replay of the attack on Iran. In the case of Iran, Donald Trump was selling the idea that a peace meeting will take place in Muscat with Iran to resolve the nuclear issues. We were all optimistically awaiting that meeting, not knowing that all the time Trump and Netanyahu were planning an attack on Iran. The same playbook for Qatar. Donald Trump talking about an American peace proposal, which attracted HAMAS leaders to meet to seriously consider the American proposal, while all the time the Americans and the Jews were planning an attack. Lessons learned. Next time you hear America talking peace you should prepare for war.    

Iranian President Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Araghchi have called for Muslim unity and boycotting Israel. What practical steps do you foresee Muslim countries taking in response, and how realistic is sustained unity given the diverse interests in the region?

In the Qatar summit conference, Arab League Secretary General, Abul Ghaith called upon the world to take measures, including economic, to pressure the Zionist entity. The irony is, some of the countries meeting in Doha to whom Abu Ghaith was talking are themselves doing business with the Zionist entity to the tune of almost 20 billion dollars a year. And this has been continuing even as the Gaza genocide continued and even as Doha was attacked only a short distance from where the meeting was held. Meanwhile, outside those countries meeting Doha, as far away as Spain and Norway, real and practical steps are being taken to impose punitive economic sanctions on the Zionist entity.  Perhaps Mr Abul Ghaith is not aware of what’s happening around. At age 83 people tend to lose awareness sometimes.

I sat listening to every speech in that conference. The speakers gave a repeat news broadcast of what the Zionists were doing. We know all that. It is why they are meeting.  I was keenly waiting to hear what the summit meeting will do in response. This is the fourth summit held since the Gaza genocide started. Every meeting was a total waste of time and resources. 

You ask about the practical steps? Ok, let’s see. The 57 Muslim countries can immediately freeze all of the 20 billion dollars trade some of them do with the Zionist entity. They can ban flights going or coming from Zionist controlled airports from overflying the airspace of the Muslim world. They can do the same for ships. They have asked for the UN to freeze the membership of the Zionist entity. That’s excellent, but how about starting with themselves breaking off diplomatic and trade relations first. These are practical steps that will not only completely paralyse the Zionist entity, but also send a strong message to others that we are serious. They will also immediately disable the continuation of this genocide. These are steps that should have been taken right from the first meeting in Jeddah.  

The OIC has condemned the Israeli strike on Hamas members in Doha. What role do you think the OIC and Arab League can play effectively in influencing international responses to Israeli actions?

The OIC, the Arab League and similar organizations are bureaucrats, just a bunch of glorified clerks. An effective role can only come from the power centers controlling such organizations. When Iran was attacked, Iran did not call for a summit or economic sanctions or make diplomatic pleas. Iran retaliated forcefully, swiftly and decisively making plain what the consequences for the Zionist entity will be. 

What Iran did was a shock to everyone who had mistook Iran’s patience for weakness and doubted Iran’s retaliatory capabilities. You might remember how many calls for restraint came out of London and Paris and Berlin and the EU. That was clear evidence that the Zionist entity was being severely punished beyond anything it or its supporters expected. Had it been the other way around, and Iran was being destroyed, you would not have heard calls for restraint. Iran showed how a country stands up to its enemies.    

Given the recent attacks on Muslim countries, including Qatar, Lebanon, Iran, and Yemen, some suggest a rising trend of Israeli aggression beyond Palestine. How might this shape future conflicts and alliances in West Asia?

I will rephrase your question if you don’t mind. What should be the best outcome, not only from the recent Doha summit, but also from lessons learned in the behaviour of the Zionist entity and its western supporters. At the regional level, and I mean the countries that are in the immediate line of attack, there is a desperate need for a regional security arrangement. 

An Arab, Iranian Turkish alliance is of utmost importance. I have written and said this before more than once. I cannot say this enough times. The mistrust has to end. This sectarian useless divide must end. Palestine is not a religious issue. It is political issue of land usurped by foreign settlers and the land must liberated. Period. There is no religious angle to that political reality. 

If the other side, Jewish or Christian have some expectations of a second coming or first coming, that is their problem, not ours. For us Palestine an Arab political issue, primarily an Arab land that must be liberated, primarily by Arabs themselves. On the other hand, regional security, and the threats from the Zionist entity, the U.S. and their western supporters are directed not just towards Arabs, but to Iran and Turkey. And those common threats can only be countered by strong security arrangements between the indigenous nations of the region, the Arabs, Iran and Turkey. 

The three sides have enough human resources, close to 700 million people, with substantial human capital, technology, financial and economic resources that enables the creation of a very strong security perimeter. What they lack is trust. That weakness is being fully exploited by their enemies.  

How do you interpret the international legal and diplomatic ramifications of Israel’s strike inside Qatar? Can this incident lead to new developments in international law or sanctions?

No. nothing will happened unless the nations attacked rise up uniformly and make things happen. The world is not controlled and laws are not made for or by the weak. 

What challenges do Muslim countries face in crafting a coherent and effective collective strategy in response to Israeli military actions?

Muslim countries can support the countries in the region directly threatened by the Zionist entity. Beyond that, I don’t think there is a big role for them to play. 

Could this incident strengthen Iran’s narrative that Western powers enable Israeli aggression while Muslim nations must rely on their own solidarity?

Iran’s narrative is strengthened by both, Zionist aggression and Iran’s punitive retaliation to that aggression. Others in the region, Arabs and Turkey, can either follow Iran’s example in strengthening themselves by allying with Iran in a regional security arrangement or expose themselves to Zionist continued aggression. There’s no third way.