DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – Iran launched a missile attack at a US military base in Qatar on Monday, retaliating for nuclear-existing US bombing and escalating tensions in volatile regions.
Shortly after the attack, the Gulf states of Bahrain, home to the US 5th Fleet Headquarters, temporarily suspended airspace flights.
Qatar condemned the attack on the Al-Udeid Air Base, which intercepted the missile and said no casualties were reported. He said the airspace is safe.
Iran said the attacks in Qatar coincided with the number of bombs dropped by the US at nuclear locations over the weekend, indicating a desire to de-escalate.
Iran also said it targeted the base because it was outside its population area.
Iran announced an attack on the state television as martial arts music was played. The on-screen caption was called a “strong and successful response” to “American attacks.”
Ain al-Assad’s base, a US military resident in western Iraq, was also targeted. Iraqi security officials are Iraqi security officials who are not permitted to comment publicly on the condition of anonymity.
However, Iran did not claim credit for the attack. This could have been done by the militia.
It was not immediately clear whether the Iraqi base was damaged or injured.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said the attacks by Iranian revolutionary security guards were “a serious violation of Qatar’s sovereignty, its airspace and international law.”
Al Udeid features the command and control of the air force throughout the region and the 379th Air Expedition Building, the world’s largest expedition building.
The retaliation came the day after the US launched a surprising attack on three Iranian nuclear sites on Sunday morning.
Just before the explosion, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on social platform X:
Israel expands the war to include iconic targets
Earlier that day, Israel smashed the gates of the Tehran prison, famously for expanding its war with Iran, embracing political activists, including targets related to the country’s struggling theocratic politics, and raiding the gates of the Tehran prison, famous for raiding the headquarters of the military that suppressed recent protests.
As thick smoke feathers rose above Tehran, Israel was attacked with yet another barrage of Iranian missiles and drones. Ever since Israel began the war to target Tehran’s rapidly moving forward nuclear program, sustained fires have become a reality for civilians in both countries.
On the 11th day of the conflict, Israel said it had attacked “the targets of the regime and governmental repression agencies at the heart of Tehran,” but Israeli officials argued that they had not called for the overthrow of their Iranian government, their arch-focused enemy since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Israeli forces warned Iranians that they would continue to attack military locations around Tehran in “the coming days” as their focus has also shifted to iconic targets. The military has issued warnings on social platform X, but Iranians are struggling to access the outside world as internet closures have crippled the country.
The latest strike unfolded just hours after President Donald Trump publicly raised the possibility for himself after he inserted the US into the war with an unprecedented stealth bomber strike at three Iranian nuclear sites just a day ago.
“If the current Iranian regime cannot make Iran great again, why is there no change of government?” he asked on his true social website.
White House spokesman Caroline Leavitt later described Trump as “simply raising questions.” However, the proposal to overthrow the Iranian government has attracted new rage from Tehran. Tehran is currently not negotiating and threatens to directly retaliate against the US military or interests in the Middle East that have already been burning through the Israel-Hamas War in the Gaza Strip.
Tehran opens a new chapter in the war
On the Tehran strike, Israel opened its doors to Evin Prison. Television in Iranian states shared black and white surveillance footage of strikes at a facility known for retaining dual citizens and Westerners, often used by negotiating with the West to negotiate chips.
Evin also has a specialized unit for political prisoners run by paramilitary and all-volunteer revolutionary guards who answer only the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The facility is subject to sanctions from both the US and the European Union.
There were no immediate reports or serious damages of Iranian casualties, but the semi-feature Tasnim News Agency said power outages have been reported outside Tehran following the Israeli strike.
Television in Iranian provincial has also been aired footage of what is described as being shot inside Evin, with prisoners being managed inside the facility. However, the Abdramhan Bormand Human Rights Centre, based in Washington, Iran, has expressed concern over the prisoner’s condition.
“Many families of current detainees have expressed deep concern about the safety and condition of their loved ones held within the prison,” he said.
Earlier on Monday, Iranian General Abdulrahim Musavi, co-chief of staff of the military, warned Washington that the strike gave Iranian forces “free hands” to “oppose the interests of the US and its troops.”
Tens of thousands of American troops are based in the Middle East, many of which are located within the range of short-range Iranian missiles.
Israeli forces also confirmed that they had hit a road around the Ford enrichment facility in Iran to block access to the site. The underground site was one of the hits in Sunday’s US attacks at three nuclear facilities. The Israeli army did not elaborate.
“Iranian dictators will be punished with all their might by attacking Israel’s home base,” the Israeli Defense Ministry said.
Israeli officials familiar with the government’s strategy say that while Israel is aiming to target these locations and put pressure on the Iranian regime, they have not actively tried to defeat it. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal government deliberations.
Nuclear fear rises after we attack
In Vienna, the head of the UN Nuclear Watch Office said he expects significant damage at the Ford facility there with sophisticated bunkerbuster bombs following the US airstrikes on Sunday.
On Sunday, a strike at Iranian nuclear site caused the US to be inserted into Israeli war, prompting fear of conflict in the wider region. Iran said the US crossed the “very big red line” with its dangerous gambit to hit three sites with missiles and a 30,000-pound bunkerbuster bomb.
Several Iranian officials, including the atomic energy organization of Iranian spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi, claimed that Iran had previously removed nuclear material from the target site.
Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said on Monday that Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Aragci informed him on June 13 that Iran “will adopt special measures to protect nuclear equipment and materials.”
“The transfer of nuclear material from the protected facility to another location in Iran goes without saying that Iran responded.
Iran reports Israeli attacks
Iran said Monday’s attack on Israel was targeting Israeli cities in Israel and Tel Aviv, according to Iran’s state television.
In Jerusalem, there have also been heard of an explosion from the air defense system, and Israeli Magen Adm Emergency Rescue Team said there were no reports of injuries.
In Israel, at least 24 people have been killed and more than 1,000 have been injured in the war. Israeli strikes in Iran have killed at least 950 people and injured 3,450 people, according to a Washington-based group Humanechist.
The group has provided detailed victim figures due to Iranian unrests, including protests over Mashaami’s death in 2022, identifying 380 civilians and 253 security forces officials for those killed.
Calling Escalation
The US described the attack on Ford and Natantz’s enrichment facility, Isfahan’s nuclear facility, as a one-off to extract Iran’s nuclear program, but Trump warned of additional strikes if Tehran retaliates.
Musabi said the US attack was tantamount to invading the country by violating Iran’s sovereignty, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.
Russia is one of Iran’s closest allies, and on Monday President Vladimir Putin said he had sought “how to get out of today’s situation” after meeting with Iran’s foreign minister Araguchi in Moscow.
Putin called the Israeli and American attacks a “absolutely unprovoked invasion” against Iran.
Iran has argued that the nuclear program is for civilian purposes only, previously restricting uranium enrichment and agreed to allow international inspectors access to nuclear sites under a 2015 transaction with the US, China, Russia, the UK and Germany in exchange for sanctions relief.
However, after Trump unilaterally pulled the US out of the deal during his first term, Iran began enriching uranium to 60%.
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Ridman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Author of the Associated Press in Jerusalem, Joseph Federman of Elise Morton of London, Gaia Morson of Berlin, Ellajoiner of Brussels, and Stephanie Lichtenstein of Vienna contributed to this report.
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