Trump issues shock response as Iran attacks US military base in Qatar

7NEWS

a day ago

Iran's military says it has carried out a 'devastating and powerful' missile attack on the Al-Udeid US air base in Qatar, after explosions were heard across the Qatari capital.
Iranian authorities had issued threats to retaliate against the United States after US bombers dropped bunker-busters on Iranian underground nuclear sites at the weekend, joining Israel's air war against Iran.
Qatar's defence minister, quoted by al-Jazeera TV, said its air defences had intercepted missiles directed at the Al-Udeid air base, the largest US military installation in the Middle East, situated across the Gulf from Iran.
Qatari authorities said there were no casualties in the attack, which it condemned and said it reserved the right to respond.
US officials also said there had been no US casualties.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran will not surrender as it has not violated other countries and would not accept violations.
'We will not surrender to anyone's violation; this is the logic of the nation of Iran,' reads a statement on Khamenei's X account, which was accompanied by a picture of a burning American flag with buildings behind it also ablaze.
Trump thanks Iran following attack on US targets
US President Donald Trump on Monday thanked Iran for 'early notice' after the country attacked a US air base in Qatar, adding that he would like Tehran to 'proceed to Peace and Harmony in the Region, and I will enthusiastically encourage Israel to do the same'.
'NO Americans were harmed, and hardly any damage was done' in the Iranian missile attack, Trump added.
'Most importantly, they've gotten it all out of their 'system,' and there will, hopefully, be no further HATE. I want to thank Iran for giving us early notice, which made it possible for no lives to be lost, and nobody to be injured,' the president wrote in a post on Truth Social.
In a second post on Truth Social, Trump thanked the Emir of Qatar for 'all that he has done in seeking Peace for the Region.' In a third, the president wrote: 'CONGRATULATIONS WORLD, IT'S TIME FOR PEACE!'
The attack came shortly after Qatar closed its airspace as a precaution and the US and UK urged its citizens in the country to 'shelter in place'.
Iran co-ordinated its strikes on US bases, prompting the air space closure, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.
The New York Times, which first reported the co-ordination, said Iran took the action to minimise casualties.
Just before the explosions, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on the social platform X: 'We neither initiated the war nor seeking it. But we will not leave invasion to the great Iran without answer'.
In addition, the US Ain al-Asad air base in Iraq had activated its air defence system out of concern of a potential attack, military sources told Reuters.
Earlier on Monday, Israel bombed a jail for political prisoners in Tehran in a potent demonstration that it was expanding its targets beyond military and nuclear sites to aim squarely at the pillars of Iran's ruling system.
Despite Iran's threats to challenge oil shipments from the Gulf, oil prices largely held steady, suggesting traders doubted Iran would follow through on any action that would disrupt global supplies.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow as Iran sought backing from one of its last major power friends for its next steps.