Qatar Air Force facilities to be built on base in Idaho: Hegseth

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced an agreement Friday to build Qatari UAE Air Force facilities at a U.S. Air Force base in Idaho.

Hegeth said the facilities at Mountain Home Air Base will allow Qatar Air Force pilots to train with U.S. military personnel.

The Defense Secretary made the announcement during a Pentagon press conference with Qatari Defense Minister Sheikh Saud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.

Hegseth said the facility “will host a contingent of Qatari F-15s and pilots to enhance our combined training, increase lethality and interoperability, this is just another example of our partnership.”

Qatar is a key US ally in the Middle East. Al-Udeid Air Base, whose approximately 10,000 soldiers make it the largest American military installation in the Middle East, is located in Qatar, near the capital Doha.

Laura Loomer, a right-wing activist who has influence with President Donald Trump, blasted the announcement.

“I never thought I’d see Republicans give terrorist-funding Muslims in Qatar a MILITARY BASE on American soil so they could assassinate Americans,” Loomer wrote on X.

“I don’t think I will vote in 2026. I cannot, in good conscience, find any excuse for harboring jihadists. This is where I draw the line,” Loomer wrote.

Trump himself said in 2017: “The nation of Qatar, unfortunately, has historically funded terrorism at a very high level. The comment came during a dispute between Qatar and fellow Arab countries Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain, which had imposed a blockade on Qatar over allegations it supported extremist Muslim groups.

Qatar has denied financing terrorists.

After backlash among some Trump supporters, such as Loomer, following Friday’s announcement, Hegseth issued what he called an “important clarification” about »

“However, to be clear, Qatar will not have its own base in the United States, nor anything resembling a base,” Hegseth wrote. “We control the existing base, as we do with all partners.”

Mountain Home Air Base currently has a contingent of Singapore Air Force F-15 fighter jets stationed as part of a pilot training program for that country.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Hegseth’s announcement.

The announcement is another sign of deepening relations between the Trump administration and Qatar.

In September, after Israel carried out an airstrike against senior leaders of the Hamas terrorist group in Doha, Trump signed an executive order “ensuring the security of the State of Qatar.”

Earlier this year, the United States accepted a Boeing 747 as a gift from the Qatari royal family. Trump has said he wants the plane, valued at $400 million, to be converted for use as Air Force One, the presidential plane.

NBC News reported that the plane is expected to be returned to Trump’s future presidential library after he leaves the White House in January 2029.

A Pentagon spokesperson told CNBC that Hegseth accepted the luxury plane “in accordance with all federal rules and regulations.”

The gift drew criticism from Democrats and others, who said the plane looked like a bribe to Trump.

Trump’s family business has also expanded its presence in the Middle East – including a golf resort in Doha with the real estate arm of Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, as well as a Trump International Hotel & Tower in Dubai, a Trump Tower located in Jeddah and a hotel under construction in Muscat.