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- Qatar鈥檚 foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said warnings by foreign embassies 鈥榙o not necessarily reflect the existence of specific or credible threats鈥�
DOHA: The United States embassy in Qatar advised Americans there to 鈥渟helter in place鈥� Monday, with other Western embassies echoing the warning after Tehran threatened to retaliate for US strikes on its nuclear sites.
Qatar, which lies 190 kilometers (120 miles) south of Iran across the Gulf, is home to the US鈥檚 largest military base in the region, Al-Udeid.
鈥淥ut of an abundance of caution we recommend American citizens shelter in place until further notice,鈥� the US embassy said on its website.
Britain and Canada later cited the US security alert in their own recommendations to nationals.
鈥淔ollowing a US security alert for US nationals in Qatar, out of an abundance of caution, we recommend that British nationals in Qatar shelter in place until further notice,鈥� the UK Foreign Office said on Monday.
Iran鈥檚 armed forces threatened on Monday to inflict 鈥渟erious, unpredictable consequences鈥� on the US after its heavy strikes on three nuclear sites.
In Bahrain, a close neighbor of Qatar that hosts the US Fifth Fleet, the American embassy 鈥渢emporarily shifted a portion of its employees to local telework,鈥� it said on X.
Bahraini authorities had already told most government employees to work from home until further notice, citing 鈥渞egional circumstances.鈥�
Following the US warning in Doha, Qatar鈥檚 foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said warnings by foreign embassies 鈥渄o not necessarily reflect the existence of specific or credible threats.鈥�
鈥淲e would like to reassure the public that the security situation in the state remains stable,鈥� he wrote on X. 鈥淨atar continues to exert intensive diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region.鈥�
On Sunday, the US State Department advised Americans worldwide to 鈥渆xercise increased caution鈥� because of the war between Israel and Iran.
After Israel鈥檚 first strikes on Iran on June 13, the US embassy in Qatar had told its staff and other Americans to 鈥渆xercise increased caution鈥� and 鈥渓imit non-essential travel to Al Udeid Air Base.鈥�