The World Endurance Championship has postponed its 2026 season opener in Qatar in response to the escalation of military conflict in the Middle East.

The first race of the eight-round WEC season was due to take place on March 28 at the Lusail circuit, the weekend after its 'prologue' test that was due to be held at the same venue.

But the WEC has now announced the Qatar round has been postponed "until later in the year".

It said "with the safety and security of competitors, personnel and fans of the utmost importance" that the event had been delayed and that "a new date for the Qatar 1812km during the second half of the campaign will be finalised and communicated in due course".

A United States-Israel attack on Iran - and Iran's subsequent response - has sparked war across various Middle Eastern countries, including those that have early-season places on the WEC, Formula 1 and MotoGP schedules.

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem previously said that "safety and wellbeing" would determine whether major motorsport events due to take place in Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia would go ahead.

Qatar is due to host MotoGP two weeks after the WEC round's original date.

That same weekend F1 is due to race in Bahrain - where a tyre test had to be cancelled on Saturday - before moving on to Saudi Arabia for April 19.

The WEC statement announcing Qatar's postponement made no reference to the prologue test and there's been no decision on that yet. It could shift to Imola.

The WEC season opener will instead be held at Imola on April 19.