PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday called for a return to negotiations after Iran carried out a retaliatory strike on a US military base in Qatar.
“The spiral of chaos must end,” he wrote on X. “I call on all parties to exercise the utmost restraint, de-escalate and return to the negotiating table.”
Speaking to broadcaster France 2, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said: “This is a dangerous escalation in which Iran bears a heavy responsibility. It is a cycle of violence that puts the region at risk of a widespread conflagration, which would have very serious repercussions even here at home.”
Iran launched missile attacks on a US military base in Qatar on Monday in retaliation for the American bombing of its three nuclear facilities.
Iran attacks US base in Qatar
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.
A US defence official said there are no known American casualties or damage to the US base in Qatar.
“I can confirm 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,” the official said as quoted by AFP.
“We are not aware of any damage to the installation at this time,” the defence official added.
Iran says no threat to Qatar
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.”
