Iran Launches Counterattack on American Military Bases in Mideast

Kheiber missiles target Al Udeid —which Qatar intercepted over Doha — as well as Iraq.

Iranian Army Press Service via AP
Iran's army commander-in-chief Gen. Amir Hatami, center, accompanied by high ranked army commanders, speaks in a video call with top commanders of the army. Iranian Army Press Service via AP

Iranian officials say a revenge operation for America’s Saturday night attack on their nuclear sites has started, with reports of ballistic missile launches against American military targets in Qatar and Iraq. Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates went into high alert as well.

“Iran has officially responded to our obliteration of their nuclear facilities with a very weak response, which we expected and have very effectively countered,” President Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I’m pleased to report that no Americans were harmed and hardly any damage was done. Most importantly, they they’ve gotten it all out of their system, and there will hopefully be no further hate.”

America’s largest Mideast air base, Al Udeid at Qatar, was targeted by Kheiber missiles, a website close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps reported. The Qatari defense ministry said in a statement that the country’s air defenses intercepted the incoming missiles over the skies of Doha, some 40 miles from Al Udeid.

Israeli sources said six missiles were launched at the site. Tehran officials said that the attack, code named Operation Fatah Blessing, was in direct proportion to the Saturday American strikes. While Qatar hosts America’s largest air base, it also has relations with the Islamic Republic, including a share of a natural gas field.   

Tehran officials said that the attack was not directed at the “friendly state” of Qatar, but at American targets. Qatar said in a statement that the attack constituted a “flagrant violation” of its airspace. Yet, it also seemed eager to diffuse tensions. 

Qatar “was one of the first countries to warn against the dangers of Israeli escalation in the region,” an adviser to Emir al Thani, Majed al Anasari, wrote on X. “We have consistently called for diplomatic solutions to be prioritized and have stressed the importance of good-neighborliness and avoiding escalation.”

The American embassy at Doha has been evacuated in advance, as Washington was prepared for possible attacks. Qatar’s air space had been shut to traffic earlier. Unlike Israel, which is 1,000 miles away from Iran, Qatar is a few miles away across the Persian Gulf. Short-range projectiles are normally more difficult to intercept than missiles from farther away.  

An Israeli source tells the Sun that Iraq’s Ain al-Asad, where American forces are stationed, has also come under attack, and air defense sirens sounded in Bahrain as well.  


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