‘Yes, Netanyahu IS a War Criminal’ Qatar PM Speaks To Piers Morgan About Gaza, Iran, Trump & More

0:00Netanyahu, he attacked Qatar. He's just trying to gaz-light the public. Who's interfering and meddling with the United States politics? Is it Qatar or Israel?

0:09Piers Morgan:Do you think he's a war criminal, Benjamin Netanyahu? Well, of course, what's being committed in Gaza is war crimes. What is the truth about your relationship, Qatar and Hamas? I mean, this has been the accusation forever. We reject the whole thing. There's been no sign of the new Supreme Leader. Have you had any direct contact with him? Is he definitely alive? We didn't have any direct engagement. Would it be easier for you if the president cooled in jets on social media? Much easier for us if there is no media at all. Prime Minister, thank you very much for giving me this interview. You're first for Uncensored, and I can assure you it is what it says on the tin.

0:49Piers Morgan:Everything we discuss will go out unedited, exactly as we've said in the conversation. I want to start with something you said this week, where you described the Iran war as an earthquake with its shockwaves reaching far beyond the region, challenging assumptions about security and stability. Where were you right before this earthquake happened? Where were you physically? Well, first of all, thank you, Piers, for having me today. And just also to say the fact that, you know, As a mediator, sometimes I won't be able to answer the whole questions just to preserve the integrity of the diplomacy. But otherwise, I would try my best to be as transparent as possible.

1:36Now, look, before this war started, we've been sensing that there is an urge for diplomacy, for finding diplomatic solutions for this. We didn't spare any efforts or any route in order to find the diplomatic solutions. We've been engaging with the administration back in the United States, trying to find the solutions, trying to find a deal between them and the Iranians. But unfortunately, it didn't work out. We've been actually warning and anticipating that the consequences of this war will go beyond the region. It won't be just affecting Iran or affecting directly the region, but it will affect the global economy.

2:27It's setting also new standards and new methods of warfare. This is what we are watching and witnessing today.

2:36Piers Morgan:To my question, physically where were you when it started? I was sleeping in my bed actually. In Doha? In Doha, I was walking up just a few minutes or half an hour before the war and been informed that a campaign is about to start. Who told you that? From the US administration. I got a call from the White House. Half an hour before? Yeah. What was your reaction? Well, is there anything can be done to stop this from happening? But basically, it was already starting. Would you have liked more notice? Do you think you could have done more if you'd had more time to think? Well, of course, I mean, if we had like an earlier notice, we would do everything we can in order to avoid this war from happening.

3:23We always see diplomacy is the only way forward. We always see diplomacy is the solution for any conflict. But unfortunately, in this specific situation, it was a surprise for us. And also even when the campaign started and just 45 minutes or an hour later, we had been attacked on our mainland, on Qatar. That has just held us paralyzed in doing anything and engaging in diplomacy in the first days because we became part of that war.

3:59Piers Morgan:Qatar has a sort of unique position here where you're an ally of the United States. You have their bases, obviously, in your country. You're pretty friendly with the Iranians. You've done business with them. You have a sort of mediator role that you've developed over a number of years. You've worked with Israel in terms of getting stuff into Gaza and stuff before. We'll come to that. But it's a kind of unique place that you have, but also very complex, I mean very difficult, to have to please all these people. And the Iran war, it seems to me, has brought all of these things colliding together at the same time for you.

4:40Piers Morgan:How difficult has it been for Qatar? Well, look, it's been always a complex situation in our region, and I believe everyone recognizes this. Qatar and the leadership in Qatar has been recognizing this for decades. And we've been building our nations based on these realities that we can never change. Geography is something that we cannot change. We cannot do anything about except trying to drive the circumstances to become a better environment and a better circumstance for everyone to coexist together and to live peacefully. Iran has been our neighbor and will remain our neighbor forever. We are not going anywhere.

5:25They are not going anywhere. We have decades of relationship with them based on mutual respect. Their cooperation has been limited given the sanctions. But we tried our best to maintain this good neighborhood relationship, although we had a lot of disagreements throughout these decades in many of the policies. In fact, one of the main themes of these disagreements was in Syria. And you have seen that Qatar has taken a very firm position since 2011, and we didn't change our position until Assad has left Syria, while Iran was the biggest supporter of Assad. And we've been always sitting across the table from each other, representing a different party.

6:13Now, US-Qatar relationship has been like a fundamental strategic relationship for our country, for it's embedded in our nation's security and economy. And basically, this alliance, we will never jeopardize all, and we don't want to get it compromised. And we would like to see the best out of this US-Qatar cooperation that reflects positively in the security of our region. And GCC is our strategic security partners as well. And basically, these complications has been always a challenge that Qatar is trying to navigate. Mediation as a main role for Qatar, people actually sometimes are looking at the recent events that Qatar has mediated in.

7:07but this has been historically a Qatar opposition and not taking an extreme position with any party and trying to develop a friendship and connection with everyone around it and with everyone around the world and we have we have had a track record in agreements whether it was between in Arithria and Djibouti, Sudan, that was way before we came even into politics or into government myself personally. And then of course you have seen Afghanistan, US mediation, Gaza mediation, Iran US mediation. And there are many fronts that we have developed and cultivated this skill within our institutions and our people to become one of the key themes of Qatar foreign policy.

8:00Piers Morgan:Do you feel angry, if you're honest, about this war? And I'll tell you why I suspect you must do. Because there you are, you have US forces and their base, you've been attacked by Iran, taking a huge chunk of your big liquid natural gas refinery, causing you enormous economic hardship with that one action. Israel attacked you, which I thought at the time was completely outrageous, but they did. It seems like everyone's been coming after Qatar, notwithstanding your position as the peacemakers for a number of years in the region. There must be Qataris who think, well, what has all this been for?

8:45Piers Morgan:We're now suffering all this harm through no fault of our own. Is that how you feel? Well, look, Piers, of course, you know, peace comes at cost. And basically, we are a small country. And if we would like to grow and we would like to see our country progress and flourish, we would like to see ourselves living in a stable region. And if we are not doing anything about it, there are not many who are willing to do anything about it. That's why Qatar has been embedded this in our national security doctrine and foreign policy doctrine. Now, of course, if you will ask people in my country, you will see some of them who are unhappy with what Qatar has been doing in mediation.

9:42Maybe some of them, as I mentioned in the Bloomberg interview just last week, that the world has peacemakers, troublemakers, saboteurs, and people who are sitting back and doing nothing. We have people in our country that want us to sit back and do nothing about it. But the leadership is determined that we cannot be just sitting silent without trying our best to make sure that we get the best for our region and for our country. Look, our region has a lot of potential. It's unfortunate that we are living under these complications. It's blessed with resources. We have talented people. There are smart people all around the region.

10:30if this region come together, it will be way more powerful than any part of the world. And this is something that all of us, we should aspire for. Now, being attacked by the Israelis while we were mediating and trying to push for Trump's proposal at that time in Doha was totally unacceptable and condemned. I mean, there is setting a precedent of attacking the mediator that has never happened throughout the wars in history. Mediators have been always having a special status within different adversaries, yet Netanyahu has crossed the line like he has crossed other lines before that. When we were attacked from Iran, it was also totally unacceptable to be attacked not only as a mediator, but as a neighbor.

11:28that didn't cause harm for them. It was the opposite, actually. We were trying to help to avoid this war for them all the time. But unfortunately, when this thing happened, it also took us by surprise and took us time for us with a lot of requests and a lot of calls that's been coming from different world leaders to step up and intervene in the mediation until we took the decision to mediate. At the end of the day, the emir, Zionist, he has a vision that if we are preserving one single life, if we are preserving a city from being attacked or a group of civilians to be protected, that's worth all what's happening.

12:22And basically, this is what we are trying to do. So I'm not saying that we are a country that has an ideal situation, but we are trying our best to be an active and constructive player in our region.

12:35Piers Morgan:It's been reported that you've lost$24 billion worth in gas sales since the war began because of the reliance on Australia for most to get your liquid natural gas out to the rest of the world. The International Monetary Fund expects Qatar's economy to contract by more than 8 % this year. international visitor numbers fell around 80 % from March 2025 to March 26. And Qatar hotels, it's been reported, have been about 60 % empty since the war began. None of that is surprising to me. First, is that accurate? Well, there are actually many of those numbers has been accurate. And we report it as government.

13:16And actually, we have a very firm and clear decision by His Highness since day one from the war that we should be transparent with our partners, with the other countries, with the international, that anything that hit or damaged our economy, that should be reported, whether it's on the LNG facility when it was targeted by the Iranian missile and the export that unfortunately got stopped because of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the deficit that we are running in our budget. But we need also to recognize the fact that Qatar has built and embedded that in our strategy and in our policy to build this kind of the resilience for the country in order to face these kind of challenges and difficulties and that's That's why when we look at it as an earthquake, we have tested our foundations and it's been proven that it's strong.

14:20We the sustainability of our institutions and the response that they had showed an outstanding response whether it's from a defense point of view or from supply chain point of view. and then also to how to rethink to build to build on what we have identified as a challenge to avoid it and God forbid for any upcoming challenge in the future yes we are facing difficulties and deficit but if we wouldn't like build our reserves created our sovereign wealth fund which was a decision that's been taken more than 20 years ago. The stability funds that we created a few years ago for the government that keeps the government up and running even with our budget cuts that we have done.

15:13We have done this very wisely and very clearly on certain secondary projects not in our capital projects nor on our the payroll and the salaries of the people we didn't want and we don't want the people to feel affected as much as possible. But there are some tough decisions that we needed to take given the circumstances. And all this, we see it as circumstantial issues. It will not remain forever, it's not a structural contraction for our economy. We're still pursuing our expansion of the LNG. Our production will come back online as soon as those trains are fixed and once the shipping will be resumed we are going to recover for all our customers what we missed.

16:09Piers Morgan:Qatar is 50 years or so old and And obviously your enormous wealth was fueled predominantly by liquid natural gas. They found this enormous area in Qatar which was pumping out this resource and this made the state of Qatar very, very wealthy, obviously. We've been through some huge global economic issues in the last 30 years in particular. The financial crisis of 2008-9, the pandemic in 2020. Has this been the worst thing that you've had to deal with as a country, as a state, simply because it targeted the big source of your revenue, the liquid natural gas? Well, I think, look, if we look at it, Qatar has been through a lot of difficulties throughout history, throughout those even the last 50 years the recent ones before the gas become like the the main product that Qatar export when we said that we are going to invest in natural gas everyone was telling us you are crazy at that time the country was bankrupt people have a short memory they tend to forget that Qatar in 1996-1997, we were borrowing money to pay the salaries for the public servants in the government.

17:37We were trying to sell government assets in order to fulfill this commitment. And we decided just to take the shot and invest in the natural gas and apparently it became you know one of the main suppliers in the world actually. Qatar today is a leading LNG supplier and a reliable partner for many markets especially in Asia, many in Europe and actually this has been a blessing but also it doesn't mean that we are not going through other challenges. We went through many challenges throughout those years. You have mentioned the pandemic recently, which has affected global markets, affected supply chain, and we have proven and shown resilience at that time.

18:29And this war actually, in terms of significance and volume, there is nothing like it in the history or in the modern history of Qatar. I believe this is one of the the biggest crisis that we went through. But also we see that it has demonstrated really a resilience and a way to stand up to our people and to stand up to our region as well. And not to just stay and watch and waiting for our fate to change.

19:06Piers Morgan:What is the cold hard reality right now in terms of, we read and hear all sorts of contrary statements about the Strait of Hormuz and what is coming through and not coming through. What percentage of your usual liquid natural gas is getting through that strait as we sit here? Well, for us, you know, we have a special status as a mediator. So we are trying our best not to provoke any of the parties. Right now, our exports are barely happening through mediation of the buyers because most of our contracts are contracts that we sell them, the LNG, in Doha, and they bring their ships and take it. And whoever is taking the responsibility to grant themselves the permitting to go through the strait, either through the southern channel or through the northern channel by Iran, we deliver it for them.

20:12As much as possible, we would like to see diplomacy as the way to resolve the strait issue. Of course, it's unacceptable to close the strait and to mine international waterway. It's a lifeline for my country, it's a lifeline for the region that we are living in. And we are actually, you know, this war has imposed the reality that we don't want to see. But unfortunately, it's there. And we are trying our best to find the best peaceful way to resolve it. But if it cannot be resolved currently with the diplomatic Of course, there should be legal ways and legal avenues that protect our rights also as a coastal state to have a free passage through the strait.

21:05Piers Morgan:I can't even imagine how difficult your job must be right now as mediator. In a war where you have the President of the United States, Donald Trump, firing off very incendiary posts in public on a regular basis, often threatening the annihilation of Iran. And you've got to deal with the Iranians and try and persuade them to do a deal with this guy. And they've also worked out that they can wage an asymmetric war by controlling the Strait of Foremost, which might be as effective, actually, as ironically having a nuclear weapon. And if they combine that with the strikes they've been taking against the Gulf states, it's proven to be a crude but very effective response to the attacks from the Israelis and Americans.

21:54Piers Morgan:It's very hard to see. You've just been at the UNGA in New York, meeting with the Iranian foreign minister and with the Americans and so on. I'm struggling to see how you get a deal done anytime soon. If the Iranians think they're going to get obliterated because the president keeps saying they are, and they have the one thing that they can control is the Strait of Hormuz, how do you get to a place that not only brings the war to an end but allows you, Qatar, and other countries, of course, other states, to get the energy flowing here. Well, it's not an easy mediation, first of all. To put it mildly.

22:31I mean, it's challenging. It comes with its challenges. It comes with, you know, a lot of times efforts that we are doing. And, you know, we have a statement here and there. And by the way, we have also, there are in Iran politicians who are, you know, putting out inflammatory statements. That also sets us back. But at the end of the day, we are trying to keep focusing on the positive of this. And the closed-door diplomacy is the most effective way that we see in order to get some progress. Unfortunately, many of the times, the dynamics that happen on the ground is affecting the mediation efforts.

23:16But we are trying our best to avoid it and to make sure that the process is expedited and accelerated in order not to allow these dynamics to influence.

23:28Piers Morgan:Would it be easier for you and everyone involved in trying to get to a deal here if the president cooled his jets on social media? Well, look, to be very fair, it will be easier, much easier for us if there is no media at all about this until we get to a solution. Look, social media has changed the landscape of the public opinion in the world and has a lot of impact on everything. And it made the speed of the information flowing like this. And it's not as it used to be. Diplomacy in the past, before this era, was much easier because if there is any leak or anything that's been reported, It takes time and probably it's done before it gets out in the report.

24:19And many of the times the efforts got undermined because of scoops that coming out in social media that unfortunately not serving the purpose. So back to your question, I mean, it's much better to have everyone just, you know, stopping, putting out statement and coming really engaging in the diplomacy and give it a shot. So just maybe call it a bit, President Trump. Well, we hope so. I mean, President, he has the choice to what to do or what to say. We are trying our best to give the best advice for the US government how to, you know, to get to a resolution as well as the Iranians.

25:03Piers Morgan:There's been no sign of the new supreme leader, the son of the slain supreme leader. Have you had any direct contact with him? Is he definitely alive? Are you actively engaged in discussion with him personally? No, actually, we didn't have any direct engagement with the new supreme leader. I don't think that there is any foreign government engaged with him. But whatever we are getting from our engagement with the Iranian officials, It comes also after a verification by the Supreme Leader, and this is at least what we've been told. Do you believe he's alive? I don't know. I believe what I hear as a mediator.

25:50I try just to be as objective as possible and to get to the results.

25:55Piers Morgan:I mean, the reason I'm asking is that a lot of people think that one of the complexities of this is that you're not quite sure who you're dealing with, that there are layers perhaps even within the IRGC of people competing. to have more authority and more power, and that the Americans having taken out a level of people at the top, it's been hard to work out who to actually be negotiating with. Have you had any issues like that? Or are you clear about who has the authority to be actually negotiating? Well, I think, look, if anyone will try to get into the politics of things in Iran and how the decision making is taken or in any other mediation case and just try to capitalize on the influence of that person or the other person, always you will have difficulties and challenges.

26:51The best way is to go through the official channels to make sure that your communication is streamlined and making sure that there is one party that you are dealing with and there is one clear channel of communication and we've been engaging with the president, with the forum minister and with the National Security Council. And I believe that those three people representing the whole apparatus of the Iranian system and that has been effective. And we worked out for the signing of the MOU through these channels and we got to the MOU. And I think that right now, using the same channels is the best effective way.

27:37Who is influencing what is the decision-making process to get into that, into Iran or into any other country? It's a complex thing.

27:48Piers Morgan:Let's turn to Israel, because Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the UNGA attacked Qatar directly in his speech. He said that you've been waging an influence campaign, particularly in America, pumping billions into universities in an attempt to get people to come around to your way of thinking. Others on the Israeli side have gone even further. Naftali Bennett, former Prime Minister, says you should be viewed as an enemy state. What is your response to that? Of course, we reject the premise itself. Look, when Netanyahu came out and he attacked Qatar, he's just trying to gaslight the public and for him, anyone, every celebrity, every journalist, every influencer, every student who will be vocal about the war crimes and the genocide is being committed in Gaza, he will start to blame others for this instead of looking at his own behavior and his government behavior.

29:01The whole thing actually became very like very clear for the world that and it's becoming more and more insulting to belittling the awareness and you know the understanding of the public about everything you know that they are seeing you on social media, accusing Qatar that we are funding universities, funding journalists, funding everyone who goes against Israel is totally false accusations. Actually, he's trying to just reflect on what he's doing to influence the US, influence the US policymakers with his own view. I mean, when we are doing the lobbying, for example, we are doing the lobbying for defensive reasons.