Iran claims it has carried out a “mighty and successful response” to “America’s aggression” after launching missile attacks on a US military base in Qatar and Iraq.
The attack comes after the US dropped “bunker buster bombs” on three key nuclear sites in Iran over the weekend.
Iran’s response this evening is the latest escalation in tensions in the volatile region.
Qatar has said there are no casualties at the al Udeid base following the strikes and that its “air defences thwarted the attack and successfully intercepted the Iranian missiles”.
People in Qatar’s capital, Doha, had stopped and gazed up at the sky as missiles flew and interceptors fired.
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Iran had announced on state television that it had attacked American forces stationed at the al Udeid airbase.
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A caption on screen called it “a mighty and successful response” to “America’s aggression” as martial music played.
Initial reports claimed Iran had also targeted a base housing US troops in western Iraq, but a US military official has now told Reuters news agency the attack in Qatar was the only one detected.
A US government official has said the White House and US defence department is “closely monitoring” the potential threats to its base.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump is in the Situation Room in the White House with his team following the Iranian strikes.
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The attacks came shortly after Qatar closed its airspace as a precaution amid threats from Iran.
Senior diplomatic sources in the region have told Sky News that some Gulf nations and the US were given prior warning before Iran launched its missiles.
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Just before the explosions, Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on the social platform X: “We neither initiated the war nor seeking it. But we will not leave invasion to the great Iran without answer.”
Kuwait, Bahrain and Iraq also shut their airspaces after the attack, while Oman Air has suspended some flights in the region.
The Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways said it is rerouting several flights today and tomorrow due to restrictions in parts of the Middle East.
