Qatar announced that it had today summoned Iran’s ambassador to Doha, Ali Salehabadi, the day after an Iranian missile attack on a US base on its territory, to condemn the attack and tell him that it is necessary to avoid escalation and return to diplomacy, the Foreign Ministry said.

The Foreign Ministry “reiterates the strong condemnation on behalf of the State of Qatar for the attack on Al-Udeid Air Base” and that it “reserves the right to respond,” it said in the statement.

Meanwhile, Iran’s deputy foreign minister today thanked Qatar for its “constructive role” in avoiding regional escalation, Iran’s News Agency.

Minister Majid Takhtravanchi conveyed the message in a telephone conversation with Qatari government spokesman Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Hulaifi, the agency added, following the Iranian attack on the US base in Qatar.

“Iran is determined to continue to strengthen relations between the two countries based on good neighborliness and superior interests,” Tachtrawadji said, the report said.