Qatar News Agency Now Writes “Iranian Attacks” in 12 of 24 English Statements on Iran, Up from 1 of 14 in 2025
MEF collects the official statements Gulf news agencies and foreign ministries publish in Arabic and English, and tracks the set phrases they use for Israel, Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and the United States. These governments choose that wording with care, so a change in it can mark a change in position.
In Arabic, Qatar News Agency’s statements rose the same way, from 1 of 18 to 10 of 26. The phrase is not new: it appears once in the English 2025 baseline, on July 1, 2025, and once in the Arabic 2025 baseline. So this is a rise, not a new phrase.
Qatar News Agency statements on Iran that say “Iranian attacks”
50%English12 of 24 now2025: 1 of 14 (7%)
38%Arabic10 of 26 now2025: 1 of 18 (6%)
As published Qatar News Agency, Arabic,
Screenshot: Qatar News Agency (qna.org.qa), captured Oct 18, 2026, the day after the Oct 17, 2026 data cutoff. Underline by MEF.
Statements on each topic, Jul 20 to Oct 17, 2026, all sources, both languages. Squares by area (1 and 2 drawn at a 6px minimum). Qatar on Iran in white.
1
10
50
82
Statements on each topic in the current window, by state
None on Hamas, Hezbollah, Political Islam and Houthis.
United Arab EmiratesChecked, no change
Iran32
Houthis27
United States11
Israel10
Palestine1
None on Hamas, Hezbollah, Political Islam and Gulf naming.
Saudi ArabiaNo 2025 baseline yet
Houthis12
Palestine4
Israel2
Gulf naming2
None on Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, Political Islam and United States.
Qatar on Iran: 59 statements = 24 Qatar News Agency English + 26 Arabic + 9 foreign ministry.
24 English (12 say it)
26 Arabic (10 say it)
9 foreign ministry
white: says “Iranian attacks”
Not in the grid: Bahrain and Kuwait. Their agency and ministry sites refused or timed out. Feed details
Compared with 2025 only where both windows hold at least 5 statements from one source in one language. Method
The Rise, Baseline to Now
Baseline July 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025; now July 20, 2026 to October 17, 2026. Shares are of statements on Iran only; the phrase list is fixed and published. Method
Share of statements on Iran that use the phrase
Qatar News Agency. One line per language, labelled with the share and the statements behind it.
Source: Qatar News Agency English and Arabic pages, collected by MEF. Chart by MEF.
The Rise in the Headline, Quote by Quote
The baseline statement that already used the formula beside the newest current one, with the formula marked. Excerpts only; the agency page holds the full text. Method and formula list
“Iranian Attacks”: 1 of 14 Baseline Statements, 12 of 24 Current Ones
Largest change in wording: Qatar News Agency English statements on Iran with “Iranian attacks”, 1 of 14 in the baseline and 12 of 24 in the current window. It is not flagged because the phrase already appears in the baseline, so it is a rise, not a new phrase.
Baseline use
… Ministerial Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), held in Doha one day after the Iranian attack on Al-Udeid Air Base, which clearly affirmed the condemnation of this attack, GCC …
Marked: Iranian attack= formula “Iranian attacks (or aggression)”
Cite: Qatar News Agency (QNA), “Advisor to Prime Minister and Official Spokesperson for Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Qatar in Contact with All Parties to Reach a Broader Nuclear Agreement with Iran,” July 1, 2025, https://qna.org.qa/en/News-Area/News/2025-7/1/advisor-to-prime-mini… (accessed October 18, 2026).
Newest current use
Qatar Strongly Condemns Iranian Attacks on Several Arab Countries, Reaffirms Palestinian Cause as Priority
Marked: Iranian Attacks= formula “Iranian attacks (or aggression)”
Newest English use, published , inside the window that runs to October 17, 2026. Screenshot: Qatar News Agency (qna.org.qa), captured October 18, 2026, after the window closed on October 17, 2026. Line under the phrase added by MEF.
Every official source probed, with the result of the last run. Unreachable sources produce no statements.
State
Source
Text kept
Statements
Checked
Oman
Oman Ministry of Foreign Affairs
full text (RSS)
845
Oct 17, 2026
Qatar
Qatar News Agency (QNA)
full text
450
Oct 18, 2026
Qatar
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar
full text (English statements page)
156
Oct 18, 2026
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Press Agency (SPA)
full text
22
Oct 17, 2026
United Arab Emirates
Emirates News Agency (WAM)
headline only (article bodies sit behind a WAF)
176
Oct 18, 2026
United Arab Emirates
UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs
full text (English news)
4
Oct 18, 2026
Sources not reached, checked Oct 18, 2026: Bahrain: Bahrain News Agency (HTTP 405), Bahrain Ministry of Foreign Affairs (HTTP 405), so Bahrain has no statements here; Kuwait: Kuwait News Agency (connection timed out), Kuwait Ministry of Foreign Affairs (HTTP 403, Cloudflare challenge), so Kuwait has no statements here; Oman: Oman News Agency (TLS certificate chain incomplete), so Oman is checked from its other official source above.
