ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Qatar on Monday condemned the renewed Iranian missile and drone attacks targeting Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, urging for their “complete halt” and a “serious return to dialogue.”
The Qatari foreign ministry warned that Tehran’s “continued attacks represent a dangerous escalation that could complicate de-escalation efforts and undermine diplomatic and political initiatives aimed at restoring security and stability.”
Doha called for "an immediate and complete halt to all military actions and attacks threatening regional security.” It also called for "a serious return to dialogue and negotiations" and adherence to existing diplomatic understandings, while affirming full solidarity with Abu Dhabi and Amman and support to measures they take “to protect sovereignty and security.”
Earlier in the day, the Iranian army said that “since the early morning, the Islamic Republic of Iran Army has targeted locations housing US military helicopters and personnel at Al Minhad base in the UAE with dozens of explosive drones,” according to a statement carried by the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).
The army said the strike was carried out "in response to the killing of members of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps [IRGC] and civilians" in a US attack on Iran's Larak Island on Sunday.
The Emirati Foreign Ministry condemned what it called "the hostile Iranian attack" on its territory, saying it was "intercepted by air defense systems over territorial waters."
The assault "represents a dangerous escalation, a flagrant violation of the nation's sovereignty, security, and stability, and a direct threat to the safety of citizens and residents," the ministry said, adding that Abu Dhabi "will not hesitate to protect its security and sovereignty under any circumstances" and reserves "its full and legitimate right to respond."
Hours earlier, the IRGC's aerospace force said it launched a "punitive counteroffensive" conducting a "synchronized missile-and-drone assault" on alleged US assets at the King Hussein and al-Azraq air bases in Jordan using ballistic missiles, IRNA reported. The IRGC claimed the strikes inflicted "heavy losses."
The Corps further warned that US efforts to loosen Iran's grip on the Strait of Hormuz will not yield any results, adding that "every subsequent shot will be met with even fiercer counterstrikes," IRNA reported.
Iran's foreign ministry said Monday that the US attacked "parts of Larak Island," killing an unspecified number of service members and civilians, and that Tehran's armed forces had exercised their "inherent right of legitimate defense" by targeting US military bases in Jordan "which served as the origin and support" for the strikes.
"The armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will not hesitate to exercise their inherent right of legitimate self-defense and will decisively respond to any military aggression from the enemy as appropriate," the ministry added.
