Report: Washington investigates Qatar’s alleged funding of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard

The US State Department has opened an investigation into an Israeli government report that Qatar provided material funding to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, which the US classifies as a terrorist organization, according to the Washington Examiner.

A State Department spokesman told the American newspaper earlier this July: “We are examining these allegations,” he said, adding that “Qatar and the United States have a strong strategic and security partnership to combat terrorism.”

The outgoing Israeli president, Reuven Rivlin, revealed intelligence to his American counterpart, Joe Biden, during a meeting last month that revealed terrorist financing activities by Doha, specifically the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, which is responsible for carrying out terrorist operations outside Iran.

The Times of Israel newspaper, citing an Israeli diplomat who refused to be named, said that Rivlin provided the White House with intelligence on “the recent funding provided by Qatar to the Revolutionary Guard,” adding that the information “disturbed the American officials in the meeting.”

Voice of America’s Farsi-language news service, run by the US from a second source, also confirmed that Israel had provided information to Biden about Qatar’s funding of Iran’s revolutionary guard.

Washington Examiner noted that it has reached out to several Israeli ministries, including the Foreign Ministry, for comments, but all have remained silent on the allegations.

She pointed out that, as a general rule, Israeli governments briefly deny false news reports, but the lack of denials suggests that the intelligence is serious and has already been passed on to the Biden administration.

The Rivlin-Biden meeting at the White House coincided with a US army statement quoted by Stars and Stripes that said “the US closed bases in Qatar that once stored weapons-filled depots.”

The remaining supplies were transferred to Jordan, in a move that analysts say “puts America in a position to better deal with Iran and reflects the changing priorities of the military in the region.”

He noted that the United States had closed the main Camp As Sayliyah, the southern Camp As Sayliyah and the Falcon ammunition depot.

“The new allegations from Rivlin could further strain tensions between Qatar and the United States, which has nearly 10,000 troops stationed at al-Oudeid Air Base near Doha.”

Qatar’s status as a state sponsor of international terrorism could complicate its position before hosting the 2022 World Cup.

The Qods Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard is largely responsible for terrorist operations outside Iran that have killed more than 600 American soldiers in the Middle East.

Qods Force commander Qassem Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike that targeted him as he left Baghdad International Airport in January 2020. Ismail Qaani was then appointed to lead the corps after the operation.