Iran targeted a U.S. military base in Qatar on Monday in a response to U.S. strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities days earlier as tensions soared over the potential for a spiraling Mideast conflict.
Iran’s military claimed it had carried out a “devastating and powerful” missile attack on the Al Udeid U.S. military base in Doha. Qatar officials said there were no casualties from the attack. Qatari officials also said the nation reserves the right to respond directly and in accordance with international law after Iran struck the base.
A Defense official who was not authorized to speak publicly confirmed to USA TODAY that Al Udeid Air Base was attacked by short-range and medium-range ballistic missiles originating from Iran. There were no reports of U.S. casualties, the official said. “We are monitoring this situation closely and will provide more information as it becomes available.”
Majed Al Ansari, foreign affairs spokesman for Qatar, issued a strong condemnation of the strike. “We reassure that Qatar’s air defenses successfully thwarted the attack and intercepted the Iranian missiles,” the statement said.
The U.S. Ain al-Asad air base in Iraq had also activated its air defense system out of concern of a potential attack, military officials told Reuters.
The latest developments come as Israel stepped up airstrikes on Iran on Monday, hitting several locations the Israeli defense minister described as “regime targets” in Tehran, including the notorious Evin Prison and the internal security headquarters of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.
The U.S. has remained on alert with its 40,000 troops in the region, two days after President Donald Trump ordered the bombing of Fordow, a uranium enrichment facility deep inside a remote mountain in Iran, and facilities at Natanz and Isfahan.
Many world leaders — including those from the UK, France and Germany — called for restraint and a return to the diplomatic table. And protesters in some U.S. cities, such as the nation’s capital and New York, took to the streets to voice ardent opposition to intervention in Iran.
The extent of the damage to the Iranian nuclear sites remains a question mark since there has so far been no independent assessment. The International Atomic Energy Agency, which is the main agency that assesses Iran’s nuclear program, was holding an emergency meeting Monday.
Officials react to Iran’s attack on US military base
— USA TODAY contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Nations declare ‘solidarity’ with Qatar after Iran attacks US military base in retaliation
Reporting by Alexis Simmerman, Austin American-Statesman / Austin American-Statesman
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
