The mullahs' revenge: Iran has fired missiles at a key US base in Qatar. The operation is called"Promise of Victory," according to a statement by Iran's state news agency.
The target in Qatar: Al Udeid Air Base. The base is the central US command center in the Middle East. Over 10,000 US troops and over 100 aircraft, including strategic bombers and tankers, are normally stationed there.
According to the Pentagon, no one was apparently injured or killed. There are no reports of casualties so far, a U.S. Department of Defense official said in Washington on Monday. Qatar announced that its air defense systems thwarted the attack and successfully intercepted the Iranian missiles.
Shortly after the attack, there were also reports of rockets allegedly flying at targets in Iraq. Apparently, however, only an air raid warning was triggered in Iraq.
Iran claims it used the same number of bombs that the US used in the attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. The US base is located far from populated areas. It told Qatar that the operation poses no threat to"our friendly and brotherly neighbor."
US media reports that important aircraft were already relocated from Qatar before the attack, some to Europe – as a precautionary measure. A total of around 40,000 US troops are stationed in the region, including in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Iraq.
Qatar condemns attack
Qatar has strongly condemned the Iranian attack, calling it a"flagrant violation" of the country's sovereignty and airspace.
“Qatar reserves the right to respond directly and within a framework commensurate with the scale of this blatant aggression and in accordance with international law,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Majid al-Ansari.
Qatar has traditionally been considered a mediator between the West and the Islamic Republic. Its Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, has maintained good relations with Tehran.
Media reports say that Iran and Qatar coordinated before the attack. According to the New York Times, the mullahs warned the government in Doha to keep the number of casualties as low as possible.
According to the report, Iran felt the need to carry out a symbolic counterattack against the United States, but wanted to leave both sides an opportunity to end the fighting. Statements from the governments in Tehran and Washington on the report are not yet available.
The US had previously bombed Iran's nuclear facilities
The attack is a direct response to the massive US airstrike over the weekend.
American bombers destroyed the Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordo and Natanz with GBU-57 bunker-buster bombs, while Tomahawk missiles from US submarines hit the facility in Isfahan.
Iran condemned the attack as a violation of international law.
