Qatar on Wednesday expelled key Iranian military and security officials along with their staff from its territory, escalating tensions following missile attacks on key energy infrastructure in the Gulf. The Qatari Foreign Ministry said on Thursday it had declared the military and security attache at the Iran embassy and his staff “undesirable persons” and ordered them to leave within 24 hours. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sent an official note to the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, stating that Qatar treats the staff of the two attaché offices, in addition to both the Military Attache and the Security Attache, at the Embassy of Qatar as ‘persona non grata’ and requests that they leave the country within a maximum of (24) hours,” the ministry said.The move followed a meeting between protocol chief Ibrahim Youssef Fakhro and Iran’s Ambassador to Qatar Ali Salehabadi. Doha said the decision came in response to “repeated Iranian targeting and blatant aggression against the State of Qatar, which violates its sovereignty and security, in gross violation of the principles of international law, UN Security Council Resolution No. 2817, and the principles of good neighborliness.” “The continuation of this hostile approach by the Iranian side will be met with additional measures by the State of Qatar, ensuring the protection of its sovereignty, security and national interests,” the ministry said. The diplomatic fallout followed missile attacks targeting the industrial city of Ras Laffan, a vital gas processing centre. Qatar’s Interior Ministry said emergency teams were responding to the fire “following Iranian targeting”, while QatarEnergy confirmed the site had suffered “significant damage”. The company said, “QatarEnergy confirms that the Ras Laffan Industrial City has been the subject of missile attacks this evening. Emergency response teams were immediately deployed to contain the resulting fire, which has caused extensive damage. All personnel have been evacuated and no injuries are reported at this time.”Qatar warned that the attacks were a “dangerous escalation, a gross violation of the state’s sovereignty and a direct threat to its national security and the stability of the region”.