NEED TO KNOW

• Hamas publicly urged Iran to stop striking Gulf neighbors for the first time since the war began Feb. 28
• Qatar, which sheltered Hamas leadership for years, is furious after Iranian missiles struck near Doha
• Iran's own president apologized for Gulf strikes while the Revolutionary Guard continued them anyway

DOHA, Qatar (TDR) — Hamas on Saturday issued its first public appeal urging Iran to stop striking neighboring Gulf countries since the US-Israel war on Iran began Feb. 28, marking a significant crack in the so-called axis of resistance that Tehran spent decades building. The statement puts Hamas in an almost impossible position: publicly distancing itself from its chief financier while still condemning what it called "American-Zionist aggression" against Iran.

Hamas Walks a Tightrope Between Tehran and the Gulf

The statement, released Saturday and reported by Agence France-Presse, was carefully constructed to avoid a complete break.

"While affirming the right of the Islamic Republic of Iran to respond to this aggression by all available means in accordance with international norms and laws, the movement calls on the brothers in Iran to avoid targeting neighbouring countries." — Hamas

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The group also called on the international community to work toward halting the war immediately. It praised unnamed countries for prioritizing dialogue and urged regional states to cooperate to preserve ties among themselves.

The appeal reflects the financial and political bind Hamas now faces. Iran has supported the group financially and militarily for decades, but the Gulf states, particularly Qatar, have served as critical intermediaries for aid, diplomacy and Hamas leadership in exile.

Qatar's Fury and the Gulf Money at Stake

The stakes behind Saturday's statement are considerable. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar told the Jerusalem Post this week that Qatar is furious with Hamas for not condemning Iranian strikes on its territory sooner.

"You can already see the changes happening now. Iran's inability to financially support Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis is reshaping the situation in many places across the Middle East." — Gideon Sa'ar

Qatar sheltered Hamas political leadership for years and played a central mediation role throughout the Gaza war. Last month, Gulf countries pledged more than $4 billion in combined support to President Donald Trump's Board of Peace, with Qatar and Saudi Arabia each committing $1 billion and the United Arab Emirates pledging an additional $1.2 billion for Gaza relief. That money and those relationships are now at risk.

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Qatar's interior ministry said Saturday it was evacuating key areas of Doha as Iran continued its retaliatory air campaign against Gulf countries. Residents in the central Musheireb district received phone alerts telling them to evacuate to the nearest safe location.

Iran's Internal Rift Complicates the Picture

The Hamas appeal comes against the backdrop of a visible leadership rupture inside Iran itself. Iranian President Pezeshkian apologized to neighboring Gulf states for the strikes and ordered the Revolutionary Guard to stop the attacks. The Guard ignored him and continued anyway, exposing a command breakdown that analysts say may be accelerating Iran's strategic miscalculation.

"Iran's targeting of other Gulf states was likely a strategic error that could pull additional countries into the war." — David Petraeus, former CIA Director

The UN Security Council passed a resolution by 13 votes demanding Iran immediately halt attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Jordan. China and Russia abstained, calling the resolution "extremely unbalanced" for not addressing US and Israeli strikes on Iran.

US Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper said American forces have struck more than 5,500 targets in Iran since the war began and confirmed that Iranian missile and drone attacks have "dropped drastically" as a result. Oil prices remain above $100 a barrel as markets price in a prolonged crisis.

The Axis of Resistance Under Strain

The Houthis in Yemen have so far confined themselves to rhetorical solidarity with Iran, avoiding direct military action despite weeks of signals they might re-enter the fight. Analysts at ACLED note that Israeli strikes in 2025 severely damaged Houthi military leadership, making another escalation costly. Hezbollah in Lebanon has attacked Israel, drawing Israeli strikes that have killed at least 773 people in Lebanon since March 2, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

Hamas, meanwhile, congratulated Iran's newly appointed supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei earlier this week, wishing him "victory in the war with the United States and Israel," a statement that sat awkwardly alongside Saturday's plea to spare the Gulf.

The House of Commons Library notes that Iran's counter-strikes against Arab Gulf states, which had sought to deepen relations with Tehran in recent years through a 2023 normalization deal, may leave Iran further isolated regardless of how the military campaign concludes.

As the Gulf states absorb Iranian strikes with one hand and fund Palestinian relief with the other, the question isn't whether Hamas's loyalties are divided. It's whether either patron will still be in a position to deliver when this war ends.

Sources

This report was compiled using information from Al Jazeera, The Jerusalem Post, Channels Television, the Council on Foreign Relations Global Conflict Tracker, Euronews, the ACLED Middle East Special Issue, the UK House of Commons Library, the Times of Israel, and Wikipedia's 2026 Iran War entry.

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