Rescuers were searching for the crew and passengers of a Qatari military helicopter that crashed in the Gulf state´s waters after a “technical malfunction”, the government said early Sunday.

“A Qatari helicopter had a technical malfunction during a routine duty, which led to its crash in the regional waters of the State,” Qatar’s defence ministry said in a statement posted to X. “Searching operation for its crew members and passengers is in progress.”

The interior ministry said that several specialised teams have been deployed.

Qatar has not specified where the helicopter was flying or the number of people on board.

While Qatar has been targeted by several strikes since the start of the Middle East war, no connection has been made between this chopper and the conflict triggered by US-Israeli attacks on Iran.

• TSA staff shortages disrupt major airport travel.
• ICE agents not specifically trained for TSA duties.
• Democrat calls Trump’s ICE airport plan reckless.

US President Donald Trump threatened to deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to US airports on Monday if congressional Democrats do not immediately agree to fund airport safety.

Transportation Security Administration personnel are set to miss a second full paycheck on March 27 amid a partial government shutdown in its 36th day as lawmakers clash over funding for the Department of Homeland Security, the parent agency for TSA and ICE.

TSA officers have called in sick as paychecks have dried up, and the shortage of security agents has disrupted travel at major airports. More than 400 TSA workers have quit since the partial shutdown began on February 14, NBC News reported on Saturday, citing DHS.

“I will move our brilliant and patriotic ICE Agents to the Airports where they will do Security like no one has ever seen before,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Saturday.

In a subsequent post, Trump said the deployment would begin on Monday “if the Democrats do not allow for Just and Proper Security at our Airports, and elsewhere throughout our Country.”

TSA has about 65,000 employees, including 50,000 airport security officers.

ICE, central to Trump admin immigration crackdown

ICE agents are not specifically trained for airport security, which is TSA’s domain. ICE has played a central role in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, drawing criticism from many Democrats, civil liberties advocates and immigration advocacy groups.

Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, criticised Trump’s proposal as “another reckless, lawless threat to misuse ICE agents.”

“He seems to have no concept of what the limits are on ICE, and I think America would be absolutely appalled to see ICE agents roaming through airports, just as they’ve been breaking down doors at homes,” Blumenthal told reporters in Washington.

Homeland Security historically has shifted resources across agencies during emergency staffing shortages, said Stewart Baker, who was a DHS policy official in President George W. Bush’s administration. Keeping TSA going without paying staff creates “serious trouble” for the agency, Baker said.

Using ICE agents for airport security “may be slower than using trained people, but it would be better than having nobody,” he added.

ICE, along with Customs and Border Protection, has deployed agents over the past few months to multiple areas as part of the crackdown, most recently to Minnesota in an operation that resulted in agents fatally shooting American citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

Their deaths sparked a backlash and led the Trump administration to adopt a more targeted approach in Minnesota.

Trump this month fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem amid growing criticism of the administration’s immigration tactics. The US Senate is considering the nomination of Senator Markwayne Mullin, an Oklahoma Republican, as the next DHS secretary.

Trump has said his immigration policies are intended to curb illegal immigration and improve national security.

Last year, the American Civil Liberties Union said TSA had provided lists of airport travellers to ICE, calling the move a break from TSA’s prior practices.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says most Britons oppose involvement in the US-Israeli war on Iran, warning Prime Minister Keir Starmer of endangering British lives by allowing UK bases to be used in the aggression.

“Vast majority of the British People do not want any part in the Israel-US war of choice on Iran,” Araghchi wrote in a post on X.

He added that “Ignoring his own People, Mr. Starmer is putting British lives in danger by allowing UK bases to be used for aggression against Iran.”

He also reiterated Iran’s right to self-defense.

On Friday, in a phone conversation with his British counterpart Yvette Cooper, Araghchi slammed the UK for allowing the US to use it military bases.

“These actions will certainly be regarded as participation in aggression and will be recorded in the history of relations between our two countries,” he said.

Iran’s top diplomat warned that any assistance or support provided to the aggressors in the illegal war against Iran will only escalate tensions and “make the circumstance more complex.”

Araghchi also called on UK officials to refrain from any cooperation with the US and the Israeli regime, including providing platforms for “terrorist” TV channels supporting hostile actions against Iranians.

He also strongly criticized the UK and some other countries over their failure to condemn the “dangerous and reckless” attack on the South Pars gas field, while instead condemning Iran’s retaliatory strikes on US-linked facilities in the region.

Pointing out Iran’s inherent right to self defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter, Araghchi said Iran has respected the sovereignty of neighboring countries.

The US and Israel started a fresh round of aerial aggression on Iran on February 28, some eight months after they waged a war of aggression against the country.

Iran began to swiftly retaliate by launching barrages of missile and drone attacks on the Israeli-occupied territories as well as on US bases and interests in regional countries.