Iran attacks Air Base housing US troops in Qatar

Flares were visible over Qatar’s capital, Doha, on Monday, and explosions were also heard.

Iran has said it launched an attack on United States forces at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, after Tehran said it would retaliate against the US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, with the Qatari authorities saying missiles were successfully intercepted.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) officially confirmed on Monday that it launched a retaliatory missile attack targeting the Al Udeid base, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reports. Tasnim said the operation is called “Annunciation of Victory”.

US military officials said that Al Udeid Air Base was the only US military base targeted by Iran, according to the Reuters news agency. The official confirmed there was no impact on the base just outside Qatar’s capital, Doha. A US defence official added that “Al Udeid Air Base was attacked by short-range and medium-range ballistic missiles originating from Iran today”.

“At this time, there are no reports of US casualties. We are monitoring this situation closely and will provide more information as it becomes available.”

The Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in a post X said following the attack that “we have not violated anyone’s rights, and we will not under any circumstances accept any violation against us, nor will we surrender to anyone’s aggression; this is the logic of the Iranian nation.”

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the country is ready to respond again if the US takes any further action, according to a statement posted on Telegram.

United States President Donald Trump said said Iran had “a very weak response” and thanked the country’s leadership for providing “early notice” of the retaliatory attack.

“I am pleased to report that NO Americans were harmed, and hardly any damage was done,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

“Most importantly, they’ve gotten it all out of their ‘system,’ and there will, hopefully, be no further HATE. I want to thank Iran for giving us early notice, which made it possible for no lives to be lost, and nobody to be injured.”

Qatar condemns attacks
Flares were visible over Qatar’s capital, Doha, on Monday. It was initially not immediately known if this was the air defence system or missiles.

Loud explosions were also heard, although so far no injuries have been reported. Qatar’s Ministry of Defence says its air defence systems successfully intercepted missiles targeting Al Udeid Air Base.

In a statement, the ministry said the incident resulted in no deaths or injuries, crediting “the vigilance of the armed forces and precautionary measures taken”.

Qatar has confirmed that a total of 19 missiles were fired from Iran. It added that only one of those hit Al Udeid Air Base but caused no casualties.

Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi says it’s still uncertain whether Iran’s latest strikes mark the end of its response to US attacks on its nuclear facilities.

“Whether this will be the final attack, or if more are to come, is still unclear,” he said. From Tehran’s perspective, there may be a sense that the situation is now balanced. But Iran also views this as part of a larger, ongoing confrontation, Asadi added.

“The Iranians claim that not only the US, but also European countries, are supplying Israel with the infrastructure and weaponry” used to strike Iranian targets. “So, from Iran’s point of view, it is part of an ongoing battle in which it is being targeted on a daily basis,” he said.

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said that the missile strike against the Al Udeid Air Base was far away from residential areas in Qatar.

“This action does not pose any threat to the friendly and brotherly country, Qatar, and its noble people, and the Islamic Republic of Iran remains committed to maintaining and continuing warm and historic relations with Qatar,” the council said in a statement.

Iran and Qatar enjoy fraternal relations, and the Qatari government has condemned both the Israeli and US attacks on Iran.

Qatar, nevertheless, condemned the attack as a blatant violation of its sovereignty.

Al Jazeera’s correspondent Dorsa Jabbari, reporting from Doha following the Iranian attack, said, “People here have never experienced this kind of environment, so it was certainly a very dramatic experience.”

“But it’s important to understand that this was not intended to harm the civilian population, but it was a clear message to the US government and military that Iran has the capability to launch direct attacks on US military personnel in the Middle East,” added Jabbari.

Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst, said the war in Gaza is setting a lot of precedents in the region and wider international relations.

“Some of them are very reminiscent of the things that happened in the past,” he said, adding that this was the first time Iran targeted a US base outside Iraq.

“It is also new the way the US attacked Iran and the way Israel preventively attacked Iran in its war of choice,” Bishara said.

He added that rapid developments in the widening conflict show that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is both “manipulating the US” and “taking the entire region to an unknown as an indicted criminal”.

US on Iran’s retaliation
Al Jazeera’s correspondent, Kimberly Halkett, reporting from Washington, DC, said that the US President Donald Trump was in the Situation Room of the White House.

Initially, his national security briefing had been scheduled for the Oval Office, but it was moved due to these developments involving attacks on US bases – specifically in Qatar.

“We also know that in advance of the attack on Al Udeid Air Base, which is the headquarters of the Central Command, the largest installation in the region, there was an evacuation of the major infrastructure in terms of the aircraft,” said Halkett.

“What we know is that the Pentagon right now, even if it’s on high alert, is not tracking any other potential attacks in any other bases – this was localised to Qatar,” added Halkett.

Reports from the White House indicated that the Iranian attack on the air base appears to have been calibrated to mirror the US strike in terms of the number of missiles used.

The embassies of the US and United Kingdom in Qatar had earlier released statements recommending that citizens in Qatar shelter in place until further notice. Qatar said it shut down its airspace temporarily as part of the measures taken to ensure the safety of residents and visitors.

The countries with the most US troops include Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. These installations serve as critical hubs for air and naval operations, regional logistics, intelligence gathering and force projection.

Gulf countries—including Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, and the UAE—initially closed their airspace. Since then, Kuwait, Bahrain, and the UAE have reopened theirs.

Al Udeid is the largest US military base in the Middle East, established in 1996. Covering an area of 24 hectares (60 acres), the base accommodates almost 100 aircraft as well as drones. This base, which houses some 10,000 troops, serves as the forward headquarters for US Central Command (CENTCOM) and has been central to operations in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan.

-Al Jazeera