ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iran has launched a missile attack targeting al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest US military installation in the Middle East. The escalation follows Washington’s airstrikes a day earlier on key nuclear facilities in Iran.
In a statement, Iran’s top national security body, the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) said, “In response to the US’s aggressive and brazen action against Iran’s nuclear sites and facilities, the powerful armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran destroyed the U.S. air base at Al-Udeid in Qatar.”
The attack comes after U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday ordered “Operation Midnight Hammer,” described by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as a “deliberate and precise strike” on three key Iranian nuclear sites: Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz. According to Hegseth, the operation involved 14 GBU-57 bunker-buster bombs dropped on Fordow and Natanz, while Tomahawk missiles targeted the Isfahan facility.
Iran’s SNSC claimed that the number of missiles launched at Al-Udeid matched the number of bombs used in the US operation. It emphasized that the targeted base was located far from residential areas, and reiterated that the strike posed “no threat to our friendly and brotherly country, Qatar.”
In a separate statement, Iran’s Armed Forces announced that Operation "Bisharat al-Fath" - Farsi for Tidings of Victory - struck “the headquarters of the American Air Force and the largest strategic asset of Washington in West Asia.”
Iran “will not leave any attack on its territorial integrity, sovereignty, and national security unanswered under any circumstances,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, a senior White House official who spoke to Rudaw's Diyar Kurda shortly after the attack said, “The White House and the Department of Defense are aware of, and closely monitoring, potential threats to the [Al-Udeid] base in Qatar.”
Another US defense official told Kurda, “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 U.S. casualties. We are monitoring this situation closely and will provide more information as it becomes available,” the official concluded.
Meanwhile, the Qatari defense ministry said in a statement on X that its air defense systems successfully intercepted the missile attack, noting that “the incident did not result in any deaths or injuries.” The ministry added that “the airspace and territory of the State of Qatar are safe, and the Qatar Armed Forces are always ready to deal with any threat.”
For his part, Doha’s Foreign Minister Majed al-Ansari “strongly condemned the attack that targeted al-Udeid Air Base” by Tehran, slamming it as “a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the State of Qatar, its airspace, international law, and the United Nations Charter.
In a statement on X, Ansari added that “Qatar reserves the right to respond directly in a manner equivalent with the nature and scale of this brazen aggression, in line with international law. We reassure that Qatar’s air defenses successfully thwarted the attack and intercepted the Iranian missiles,” the Qatari foreign minister added.
Importantly, hours before the Iranian attack took place, Qatar’s state-run news agency QNA reported a “temporary suspension of air traffic” in the country’s airspace, citing “relevant authorities.” The statement described the move as “a precautionary measure taken in response to recent developments in the region.”
QNA added that the move as “a precautionary measure taken in response to recent developments in the region.”
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