Qatar slams Iran attack on US base

Observer

6 days ago

DOHA: 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. Qatar's government has offered its "strong condemnation" of the attack on the Al Udeid Air Base.
Oman expressed solidarity with Qatar while condemning the ongoing regional escalation, triggered by Israel's unlawful missile strike on Iran.
An official statement of the Foreign Ministry said the latest Iranian missile strike targeting sovereign sites in Qatar is regarded by Oman as an unacceptable and condemned act, constituting a violation of the sovereignty of a brotherly GCC state. The act contradicts the principles of good neighbourliness and raises the risk of expanding a conflict that brings only further destruction and instability, threatening the security and safety of peoples across the region.
It further called for an immediate halt to all military and missile operations, urging peaceful negotiations, and adherence to international law as the means to resolve the conflict and achieve a just settlement through legitimate avenues.
"We consider this a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the State of Qatar, its airspace, international law, and the United Nations charter," a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted on X. He says Qatar's air defence systems "successfully thwarted the attack and intercepted the Iranian missiles" and the base had been evacuated earlier.
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.
Iran coordinated the attacks on the American air base in Qatar with Qatari officials and gave advanced notice that attacks were coming to minimise casualties, according to three Iranian officials familiar with the plans. The officials said Iran symbolically needed to strike back at the US but at the same time carry it out in a way that allowed all sides an exit ramp; they described it as a similar strategy to 2020 when Iran gave Iraq heads up before firing ballistic missiles an American base in Iraq following the assassination of its top general.
United Arab Emirates airspace is currently closed based on flight paths and air traffic control audio, according to a post by FlightRadar on X on Monday.
Kuwait and Bahrain also suspended air traffic temporarily on Monday.
Iran has also attacked Iraq in retaliation for the bombing of its nuclear facilities, according to the Iranian state news agency IRNA.
It was initially unclear which sites were targeted in Iraq. However, Iraqi media reported that a state of maximum alert was declared and shelter orders issued at the Ain Al Asad Air Base in western Iraq.
An Israeli representative told media outlets that Iran had fired a total of 10 missiles at US targets in Qatar on Monday.
Shortly before the attacks in Qatar and Iraq were confirmed, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on X: "We did not start the war nor wanted it but we will not leave the aggression against the great Iran unanswered." — Agencies