Iran launched ballistic missiles at a major U.S. military base in Qatar and quickly claimed to have “destroyed” it. None of the missiles landed, and the attack yielded no casualties.
Qatar’s defense ministry said it intercepted the missiles aimed at Al-Udeid Air Base near Doha, the largest U.S. military installation in the Middle East, which houses an operations center of the U.S. Central Command, the U.S. Air Force, and thousands of military personnel.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps praised the attack as “devastating and powerful,” while Iran’s national security council said it “destroyed the U.S. air base in Al-Udeid.” But Qatar, which has been one of Iran’s closest allies in the region, denounced the strike as a “flagrant violation of Qatar’s sovereignty and airspace.”
The Iranian strikes came two days after U.S. bombers demolished three of the regime’s nuclear sites. Soon after the bombing run on Saturday, President Donald Trump warned Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei not to retaliate or face “future attacks” that will be “far greater.”
The United States and Qatar appeared to anticipate the Iranian response. Qatar closed its airspace earlier on Monday, and the U.S. State Department urged American citizens to “shelter in place until further notice.”
The attacks marked the first time Iran has directly targeted a Gulf Cooperation Council state and could further isolate the regime in the region.
Saudi Arabia condemned “in the strongest terms” Iran’s attack in Qatar, calling it “a flagrant violation of international law,” Saudi state television reported. Saudi Arabia has been cultivating closer ties with Iran, long a strategic rival, over the past few years. But the attack on Qatar, with which the kingdom shares a border, could test those warming relations.
Critics warned that American and Israeli military strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites would spark a massive war that would be devastating for the United States, but such a war has yet to materialize. Tucker Carlson, a former Fox News host, said the “very first week of a war with Iran could easily kill thousands of Americans.”
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Author: Alana Goodman
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