Qatar says all regional states, including Iran, would be hit hardest by an internet cutoff

Qatar's Foreign Ministry said countries across the region would suffer most if internet access were cut, Al Jazeera channels reported on Telegram on 20 October 2026.

Zenga News Middle East Desk · Edited by Onur IrmakoOctober 20, 2026 · Updated 10:31 GMT · 1 min read

File photo: On Monday, August 9, 2021, the State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh, Mr. Md. Shahriar Alam, met with the State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Qatar, Sultan bin Saad Al-Muraikhi, in Doha, the capital of Qatar. The English desc Photo: Press Information Department / Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

DOHA — Qatar's Foreign Ministry said all countries in the region, Iran included, would be the main losers if internet access were cut, according to two Al Jazeera Telegram channels on Tuesday, 20 October 2026.

The two channels, Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera Mubasher, published near-identical "breaking news" posts. Each said the ministry described "all countries of the region" as the "biggest affected" in the event of an internet cutoff, "including Iran."

The Al Jazeera Arabic post appeared at 09:59 GMT. The Al Jazeera Mubasher post followed at 10:02 GMT.

What is not known

The posts are short headlines. They do not say who at the ministry made the remark, or whether it came in a statement, a press briefing or an interview.

They do not say whether the remark responds to a specific event. They do not say whether any internet cutoff has been announced, is under way or is being considered in Iran or elsewhere.

The posts give no further comment from the ministry on how regional states would be affected. They contain no reaction from Iranian officials or from other governments.

Zenga News has not seen a full statement or transcript from the Qatari Foreign Ministry. The account here rests only on the two Telegram posts, which are unverified social media content. The wording attributed to the ministry should be treated as reported, not independently confirmed, until a ministry statement or a full report from a news outlet is available.

Background

The source material does not include background on the context of the remark. Zenga News will update this report if the ministry or other officials provide more detail.