Iran strikes back with missile attack targeting US base in Qatar

Qatar said it had successfully intercepted an Iranian missile attack Monday on the United States' Al Udeid base, the largest US military facility in the Middle East.

"The Ministry of Defense announced that Qatari air defenses successfully intercepted a missile attack targeting Al Udeid Air Base," it said in a statement, adding that "the incident did not result in any deaths or injuries".

Qatar has described the attack on the US base as a 'flagrant violation' of sovereignty.

"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," foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said in a statement.

No threat to Qatar: Iran

On Monday evening Iran's National Security Council confirmed it had attacked a major US military base in Qatar in retaliation for American strikes on its nuclear facilities, 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.

Air traffic suspended

Explosions could be heard over Doha on Monday, shortly after Qatar, which hosts the biggest US base in the Middle East, suspended air traffic as Iran threatened retaliation for US strikes on its nuclear sites.

AFP journalists heard several rounds of blasts in central Doha and across the Qatari capital, with projectiles stopped by interceptors illuminating the night sky.

Gas-rich Qatar, which lies 190 km south of Iran across the Gulf, is home to the United States' largest military base in the region, Al Udeid, which hosts the regional headquarters of the Pentagon's Central Command.

Earlier, the US embassy in Qatar advised Americans there not to go out, with other Western embassies echoing the warning.

"Out of an abundance of caution we recommend American citizens shelter in place until further notice," the US embassy said on its website.

Britain and Canada later cited the US security alert in their own recommendations to nationals.

Iran's armed forces threatened on Monday to inflict "serious, unpredictable consequences" on the US after it joined its ally Israel's campaign against the Islamic republic, carrying out heavy strikes on three nuclear sites.

AFP