What to know about the US's Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar after Iran's attack
On Monday, Ali Akbar Velayati, an adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, announced that bases used by US forces 'in the region or elsewhere' could be attacked in retaliation for US attacks on Iran's underground nuclear sites the previous day.
Later that evening, explosions were heard over Qatar's capital, Doha, as Iran attacked Al Udeid Air Base, the largest US military base in the Middle East.
Here's everything you need to know about Al Udeid:
Gas-rich Qatar, which lies 190km (120 miles) south of Iran across the Gulf, is home to the US's largest military base in the region, Al Udeid.
The 24-hectare (60-acre) base, in the desert outside the capital Doha, was set up in 1996 and is the forward headquarters for US Central Command, which directs US military operations in a huge swathe of territory stretching from Egypt in the west to Kazakhstan in the east.
It houses the Qatar Emiri Air Force, the US Air Force, the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force, and other foreign forces.
It houses around 10,000 troops.
Earlier this year, The Hill, a Washington, DC-based newspaper, reported that Al Udeid's 'long, well-maintained runways enable rapid deployment, making it a critical component of US force projection'.
The Hill also reported that Qatar's investment in Al Udeid has kept it 'at the forefront of military readiness while saving US taxpayers billions of dollars'. Over the years, it said, Qatar had spent more than $8bn upgrading infrastructure.
The base has played a central role in air campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, and in humanitarian missions, including the 2021 evacuation of Kabul.
On Monday, Qatar's Foreign Ministry announced it had temporarily closed its airspace amid threats of Iranian retaliation.
'The competent authorities announce the temporary suspension of air traffic in the country's airspace, as part of a set of precautionary measures taken based on developments in the region,' the ministry said.
The closure came several hours after the US and UK embassies urged their citizens in Qatar to shelter in place out of what it said was 'an abundance of caution'.
Later, news agency Reuters cited a Western diplomat as saying there had been a credible Iranian threat against Al Udeid since noon on Monday.
That evening, Qatar's Defence Minister, cited by Al Jazeera, said the country's air defences had intercepted missiles directed at Al Udeid.
Before targeting Iran's nuclear sites, it appears that the US started taking precautionary measures.
As US President Donald Trump mulled direct involvement in the Iran-Israel conflict, news agency AFP reported that dozens of US military aircraft were no longer on the tarmac at the air base, basing its assessment on satellite images published by Planet Labs PBC.
Nearly 40 military aircraft – including transport planes like the Hercules C-130 and reconnaissance aircraft – were parked on the tarmac at the base, the regional headquarters of the Pentagon's Central Command, on June 5. But in an image taken on June 19, only three aircraft were visible.
One US official who spoke to Reuters said aircraft that were not in hardened shelters had been moved from Al Udeid base. Additionally, he said US Navy vessels had been moved from a port in Bahrain, where the US military's 5th fleet is located.
'It is not an uncommon practice,' the official said. 'Force protection is the priority.'
No.
Prior to the US attack on nuclear sites on Sunday, it was reported that B-2 bombers were heading to Guam – a ruse, as it turned out.
As all eyes looked West, seven B-2 stealth bombers took off from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri in the US at 00:01 EDT (04:01 GMT), according to the Pentagon. The top-secret flights flew straight over the Atlantic to Iran.
None of the US bases in the Middle East were deployed in the US offensive on Iran.
Qatar condemned the attack on the air base, calling it a 'flagrant violation' of its 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.
Iran and Qatar enjoy fraternal diplomatic relations. Qatar has condemned the US strikes on Iran's nuclear sites.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


CNN
35 minutes ago
- CNN
Iran's supreme leader appears in public for first time since start of conflict with Israel
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attended a religious gathering on Saturday, according to Iranian state media outlet Press TV, the first time he has appeared in public in several weeks. Khamenei had not made a public appearance since his country was plunged into conflict on June 13, when Israel unilaterally bombed Iranian military and nuclear sites. The US later joined in, bombing three key Iranian nuclear sites before US President Donald Trump declared a ceasefire. In video posted by Press TV on X, Khamenei waves to a crowd of black-clad worshippers marking the eve of Ashura, when Shia Muslims commemorate and mourn the death of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Husayn ibn Ali. The crowd greeted the cleric in turn with cheers and chants. Khamenei, the longest-ruling leader in the Middle East, reportedly spent the 12-day conflict with Israel and the US hiding in a bunker with little access to outside communications. During the conflict, both Israeli politicians and Trump openly discussed overthrowing Khamenei's government and deposing him by force. After reportedly rejecting an Israeli plan to kill Khamenei, Trump stated in late June that the cleric was an 'easy target.' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not rule out targeting Khamenei either, saying that his death would 'not … escalate the conflict,' but rather 'end' it. In a recorded statement posted from an undisclosed location days after the ceasefire began, Khamenei was defiant, declaring victory over both Israel and the US. Khamenei took time to respond directly to US President Donald Trump, who had called for Iran's 'unconditional surrender' shortly before ordering US airstrikes. 'This (conflict) is not about our nuclear program,' Khamenei said. 'This is about Iran surrendering … in his statement, (Trump) revealed the truth, he showed his hand. The Americans have had a fundamental issue with Islamic Iran since our revolution.' 'And it will never happen,' Khamenei said of Trump's demand. Nonetheless, the conflict with Israel and the US has likely bruised Khamenei's reputation in Iran, analysts told CNN in June. Israel's initial strikes were unprecedented in their depth, killing some of the country's top military leadership on day one. 'The Islamic Republic had one social contract with society, which is that it deprived them of all freedoms … in return for providing security,' said Ali Vaez, director of the Iran Project at the International Crisis Group. 'Now, that image has been shattered in the eyes of the Iranian people.' Khamenei's new public appearance comes a day after Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that the US won't allow Iran to restart its nuclear program. 'If they did start, there'd be a problem. We wouldn't allow that to happen,' Trump said Friday. Trump said he would discuss the previous strikes with Netanyahu, who is due to visit Washington on Monday. The comments echo remarks made earlier on Friday by Israel's defense minister, Israel Katz, who said his country must maintain 'aerial superiority' over Iran to ensure it cannot rebuild its nuclear or missile production programs. Trump reiterated his claim that Iran wants to meet with the US for talks, a statement Iranian officials have repeatedly denied. The Trump administration has discussed possibly helping Iran access as much as $30 billion to build a nuclear program for civilian energy production, easing sanctions, and freeing up billions of dollars in restricted Iranian funds – all part of an intensifying attempt to bring Tehran back to the negotiating table, four sources familiar with the matter said.
Yahoo
40 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Iran's Khamenei makes first public appearance since Israel war: state media
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday made his first public appearance since the outbreak of his country's recent 12-day war with Israel, taking part in a religious ceremony in Tehran, state media reported. The octogenarian leader was shown in a video broadcast by state television greeting people and being cheered at a mosque as worshippers marked the anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, an important date for Shia Muslims. Khamenei, 86, can be seen on stage dressed in black as the crowd before him, fists in the air, chants "The blood in our veins for our leader!" State TV said the clip was filmed at central Tehran's Imam Khomeini Mosque, named for the founder of the Islamic republic. Khamenei, in power since 1989, spoke last week in a pre-recorded video, but had not been seen in public since before Israel initiated the conflict with a wave of surprise air strikes on June 13. His last public appearance was two days before that, when he met with members of parliament. Israel's bombing campaign followed a decades-long shadow war with Iran, and was aimed at preventing it from developing a nuclear weapon -- an ambition Tehran has consistently denied. The strikes killed more than 900 people in Iran, its judiciary has said, while retaliatory Iranian missile barrages aimed at Israeli cities killed at least 28 people there, according to official figures. ap-sbr/dcp/smw/jhb
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Iran's Khamenei attends public event after weeks of war with Israel
DUBAI (Reuters) -Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attended a religious event on Saturday, according to a video carried by state television, after reports that he was in a "secure location" since the start of a 12-day air war with Israel in which top Iranian commanders and nuclear scientists were killed. The video carried by state media showed dozens attending a ceremony to mark Ashura, the holiest day of the Shi'ite Muslim calendar, standing chanting as Khamenei entered a hall where many government functions are held. For apparent security reasons, Khamenei had issued pre-taped messages during the war which started on June 13, and avoided public appearances. On June 26, in pre-recorded remarks aired on state television, Khamenei promised that Iran would not surrender despite U.S. President Donald Trump's calls.