DOHA, Qatar: Iran launched missile attacks on a US military base in Qatar on Monday in retaliation for the American bombing of its three nuclear facilities amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, The Associated Press reported.
Qatar’s Defence Ministry said its air defence had successfully intercepted the missile attack on Al-Udeid Air Base, which resulted in no deaths or injuries.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, in a statement on X, said, “We express the State of Qatar’s strong condemnation of the attack on Al Udeid Air Base by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, and consider it a flagrant violation of the State of Qatar’s sovereignty and airspace, as well as of international law and the United Nations Charter.”
“We affirm that the State of Qatar reserves the right to respond directly in a manner proportional to the nature and scale of this blatant aggression and in accordance with international law,” the spokesman said.
The State of Qatar strongly condemns the attack that targeted Al-Udeid Air Base by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. We consider this a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the State of Qatar, its airspace, international law, and the United Nations Charter. We affirm that…
— د. ماجد محمد الأنصاري Dr. Majed Al Ansari (@majedalansari) June 23, 2025
Qatar said that the security situation was “stable” following an Iranian missile attack.
“The Ministry of Interior confirms… that the security situation in the country is stable, and there is no cause for concern,” the government said in a statement.
Iran confirms targeting of US base
Iran’s National Security Council confirmed it had attacked a major US military base in Qatar on Monday, adding its response did not “pose any threat” to its Gulf neighbour.
“In response to the US aggressive and insolent action against Iran’s nuclear sites and facilities, a few hours ago, the powerful armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran struck the US air base in Al-Udeid, Qatar,” the council said in a statement, adding that the number of missiles used “was the same as the number of bombs that the US had used in attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities”.
“This action does not pose any threat to our friendly and brotherly country, Qatar,” it added.
A statement from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), published by the semi-official Tasnim news agency, said Iran launched a “powerful and devastating missile attack” on the Al-Udeid base in Qatar.
The IRGC described the strike as a “clear and explicit” message to the White House, warning that Iran “will not leave any attack on its territorial integrity, sovereignty, or national security unanswered under any circumstances.”
A senior White House official said that “the White House and the Department of Defence are aware of, and closely monitoring, potential threats to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar,” Al-Monitor news website reported.
Qatar suspends air traffic
Earlier, Qatar temporarily suspended air traffic across the country on Monday, and some Western embassies advised their citizens there to shelter in place after Iran threatened retaliation for US strikes on its nuclear sites.
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.”
Qatar, which lies 190 kilometres (120 miles) south of Iran across the Gulf, is home to the United States’ largest military base in the region, Al Udeid.
“The competent authorities announce the temporary suspension of air traffic in the country’s airspace, as part of a set of precautionary measures taken based on developments in the region,” the foreign ministry said.
It added that authorities were monitoring the situation “in coordination with regional and international partners”.
Earlier, the US embassy in Qatar advised Americans there not to go out, with other Western embassies echoing the warning.
“Out of an abundance of caution, we recommend American citizens shelter in place until further notice,” the US embassy said on its website.
Britain and Canada later cited the US security alert in their own recommendations to nationals.
Iran’s armed forces threatened on Monday to inflict “serious, unpredictable consequences” on the US after it joined its ally Israel’s campaign against the Islamic Republic, carrying out heavy strikes on three nuclear sites.
It’s real Iran did attack the US bases in Qatar. Khamenei i wasn’t aware of your game 😭 pic.twitter.com/Joty73j5aM
— r. 🇵🇰 (@adanaliramo_s) June 23, 2025
In Bahrain, a close neighbour of Qatar that hosts the US Fifth Fleet, the American embassy “temporarily shifted a portion of its employees to local telework”, it said on X.
Bahraini authorities had already told most government employees to work from home until further notice, citing “regional circumstances”.
Following the US warning in Doha, Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said such statements by foreign embassies “do not necessarily reflect the existence of specific or credible threats”.
“We would like to reassure the public that the security situation in the state remains stable,” he wrote on X. “Qatar continues to exert intensive diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region.”
On Sunday, the US State Department advised Americans worldwide to “exercise increased caution” because of the war between Israel and Iran.
After Israel’s first strikes on Iran on June 13, the US embassy in Qatar had told its staff and other Americans to exercise caution and “limit non-essential travel to Al Udeid Air Base”.
