11 hours ago
Iran Fires Missiles at U.S. Base in Qatar
A C-17 Globemaster III sits at Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar on Nov. 11, 2022. Credit - U.S. Air Force/Airman 1st Class Andrew Britten/AP
Iran retaliated against the U.S. on Monday, launching missiles at a U.S. base in Qatar, according to a U.S. defense official and a statement from the Qatar foreign ministry. The missiles targeted Al Udeid Air Base outside Doha and were intercepted by air defenses before they could strike the base, the Qatari government said. "At this time, there are no reports of U.S. casualties" from the barrage of short-range and medium-range ballistic missiles fired by Iran, the U.S. defense official said.
Thousands of U.S. service members are stationed at Al-Udeid Air Base, an important American military outpost on the Persian Gulf. After an American bombing raid on Saturday hit three nuclear program sites inside Iran, Iranian officials promised to strike back.
The Iranian missile attack comes after the State Department on Monday told U.S. citizens living in Qatar to shelter in place. On Sunday, the State Department had warned all American travelers worldwide to exercise "increased caution." The U.S. embassy in Baghdad ordered additional personnel to leave Iraq over the weekend and issued a security alert warning Americans in Iraq of an "increased potential for foreign terrorist organization-inspired violence or attacks against U.S. businesses and locations frequented by U.S. citizens."
Authorities inside the U.S. are also on alert for potential violence in the wake of the U.S. strikes on Iran. A Department of Homeland Security advisory issued an advisory on Sunday that the 'ongoing Iran conflict is causing a heightened threat environment in the United States.'
Ahead of the attack on Qatar on Monday, Iran's mission to the United Nations posted on X that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was 'dragging the United States into yet another costly war' and the U.S. had 'recklessly chosen to sacrifice its own security merely to safeguard Netanyahu.'
President Trump is scheduled to meet with senior national security officials Monday at the White House. 'The White House and the Department of Defense are aware of, and closely monitoring, potential threats to Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar,' a senior White House official told TIME.
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