Qatar hosted a bipartisan congressional delegation led by U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, with Senators Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.). In Qatar, the senators met with His Highness the Amir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, where they discussed the importance of U.S. security relationships with the Arab Gulf, including joint efforts to counter ISIL and deter Iran from destabilizing the region, particularly after its recent ballistic missile tests in defiance of U.N. Security Council Resolutions.