Iran Launches Missiles at US Base in Qatar: State Media
This is not a surprise. The US has been bracing for and positioning for some kind of retaliation. Well, and Iran has been warning of one scarlet. The important context here is that the chief of staff of Iran's armed forces in a video message earlier today, promised that Iran would be responding to the US attacks on its nuclear sites proportionately and decisively. And perhaps the Wall Street Journal here is indicating that that retaliation may potentially be coming soon, as it were. Iran, according to US officials briefed by the Wall Street Journal, is moving missile launchers into place for a potential attack. And the Department of Defense is tracking what they describe as, quote, a credible threat to US forces in the Middle East. This also comes as we're tracking a number of developments centered around Cutter in particular. Cutter, of course, closed off its airspace earlier today in a move that they said was precautionary. The US embassy in Qatar has also issued a warning to Americans to shelter in place. And China's embassy has urged citizens in Qatar specifically to avoid a loaded airbase. This is important because that base houses house hosts, hoses, thousands of US troops. It is our largest installation in the Middle East. It's actually headquarters of US Central Command, in addition to housing Qatari air forces, as well as the Royal Air Force. And so that is very a very key military installation that the US has that there is a lot of buzz about could potentially be targeted. Keeping in mind, of course, that President Trump had previously promised if there were retaliation, the US would respond with even greater force than the attacks we saw over this weekend is the administration has issued repeated warnings not to target U.S. military assets or personnel. But again, the The Wall Street Journal is reporting here that Iran does look to at least be moving into a position in which it could do so. And as you're speaking, Kelly, some other headlines have just crossed as well, according to Axios. Iran has launched a six missiles toward US bases in Qatar. And Reuters has also reported that there have been explosions heard over Qatar's capital of Doha. So again, you reference how Qatar has stopped some flights. That would make sense given they had anticipated some kind of retaliatory action. And again, according to Reuters, the explosions have been heard over covers capital of Doha. Kelly, tell us a little bit more about the mindset in Washington. Clearly, the weekend attacks is what everyone's talking about. But as we were just discussing with Max Layton of City, there's a lot of, I guess, expectation within the commodities market that now that the strikes are over and the US kind of waits to see how Iran responds, there's very much an expectation that the administration will return its focus to domestic matters. What are you seeing in Washington? Well, much of that will depend on the way in which Iran responds. Scarlett, I would note that as we're seeing this reporting about explosions outside Doha, the Arabic baby air base, which I just mentioned, is just southwest of Doha. So it very much could be included in whatever this materializes to be. And if there are any U.S. casualties, that could be something that President Trump feels compelled to respond to. Again, to quote him directly from this weekend, he warned any retaliation will be met with force far greater than what was witnessed during the initial attack on Saturday night. So that does indicate that the US could still be prepared to act militarily if necessary. The President likely will be getting input from his National Security Council team. He is supposed to meet with them in the Oval Office. That will be closed to press just about 20 minutes from now at 1 p.m. Eastern time so we could get more of a readout then as to what exactly the US is thinking. But of course, the president has to keep in mind various political pressures. There is not much appetite in the US for the US to get involved in another direct war in the Middle East. The MAGA base of the President's party in particular, of course has much more of an isolationist bent, doesn't want to see the US be that interventionist. So he has to consider those domestic political pressures as well as he surveys the geopolitical geopolitical landscape here. But a lot is going to depend on what we can confirm around these reports as to whether or not Iran has decided to attack U.S. military assets and if there are any casualties that could result from that.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Voters now say its Trump's economy as they pin current economic conditions on him over Biden
Voters now overwhelmingly say President Donald Trump is responsible for the current state of the economy, according to late June survey data. Overall, 55 percent of respondents to a Wall Street Journal / YouGov survey said the president is responsible for the economy. That's more than double those who pinned current conditions on former President Joe Biden. That analysis held true among Trump voters, too, many of whom said the Biden economy, including its record inflation during the pandemic, was a key reason for turning out. Among the MAGA faithful, 46 percent of respondents to the survey, conducted June 17 - 20, said it was Trump's economy. As for the underlying indicators about the Trump economy, recent data paints a mixed picture. The economy added about 147,000 jobs in June, beating forecasts and surpassing May's 144,000-person increase. Unemployment also declined a tenth of a percent. Consumer sentiment, meanwhile, rose compared with May readings, according to the University of Michigan consumer survey, despite a period of domestic unrest that included mass protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles and the fatal shooting of a Minnesota lawmaker. But private sector hiring fell by half, and the overall labor market shrunk by 130,000 people. Considerable uncertainty remains about the long-term fate of the Trump economy with the administration's 90-day freeze on tariffs with international trading partners set to end on July 9. The tariffs could cost midsize American firms at least $82 billion in value from projected price hikes, layoffs, hiring freezes, and reduced margins, according to a JPMorganChase Institute study. Moreover, as the president himself has acknowledged, the scope of the administration's deportation campaign could pose a major threat to industries heavily reliant on migrant labor such as agriculture and hospitality. In immigrant communities across the country, residents have described decreased consumer traffic and employees skipping work. The White House's signature 'Big, Beautiful Bill' spending package could also impact the country's economy in longer-term ways. The bill, which passed the House of Representatives on Thursday and is heading to the president's desk, extends 2017 tax reductions and makes major cuts to Medicaid and nutrition assistance programs for low-income people. The legislation will add $3.3 trillion to the deficit over the next decade, and 11.8 million more people will go without health coverage, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump is still ‘stinging' from brutal TACO jibe, a member of his family claims, so he decided to attack Iran
The estranged niece of President Donald Trump has accused him of bombing Iran because he 'wasn't getting enough attention' and claims he was likely still 'stinging' as a result of his brutal new nickname from critics. 'As a country, we are at war and the man who led us into this war is a corrupt, degraded, ignorant know-nothing who acted illegally to plunge us into a potentially catastrophic situation without the consent of Congress because, despite the fact that he is the president of the United States of America and arguably the most recognized figure on the planet, he wasn't getting enough attention,' Mary Trump wrote Sunday on Substack. Mary Trump, a psychologist and writer who has long been critical of her uncle, notes it's time Americans 'stop imputing some deeper or reasonable motives to Donald Trump.' 'Despite being depraved and cruel, much like his cohort (Israeli Prime Minister) Benjamin Netanyahu, he is driven by the most primitive impulses that center almost solely around protecting his fragile ego from humiliation (about which he has a pathological terror) and himself from the reality that he is a complete fraud,' she continued. She continued: 'Donald is still no doubt stinging from the acronym recently coined to mock his inability to follow through on anything – TACO: Trump Always Chickens Out.' The nickname TACO, short for, 'Trump Always Chickens Out,' stems from the president's habit of making tariff threats, resulting in a drop in the markets, only for him to change course and see the markets rebound. In the post, Mary Trump called out her uncle for backing off Israel after it bombed Iran, prompting criticism from some of his most ardent defenders, before he ordered the U.S. attack just days later. 'His allies would have us believe that Donald, a brilliant strategist, was faking us out. Sure. An infinitely more plausible explanation is that, on the one hand, he hates being challenged or contradicted, especially from those who almost always fall in line; therefore, he felt the need to double down on his threats by carrying them out,' she wrote. 'On the other hand, Donald is a desperate black hole of need – by changing the narrative, he could make sure the spotlight turned back on him,' she continued. Mary Trump has long been a vocal critic of her uncle, sharing in a recent interview that she was 'devastated' by his rise to power in 2016 and said he 'never evolved' from the man she knew growing up as a child. 'I handled the 2016 election badly. I was devastated by it. I took it really personally because I felt like the worst person on the planet was being elevated at the expense of better people,' she told the BBC last month. 'How I responded to the election prefigured how I responded to everything else [later in his term] because I knew it was going to be unspeakably awful,' she continued. 'And I saw the specific policies and the ways in which those policies were designed to be cruel and to have a devastating impact on the most vulnerable people in the country.'
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
IDF chief says conditions 'created' for Gaza ceasefire - as Trump says it could be 'this week or next'
Donald Trump and a leading figure in the Israeli army have suggested a ceasefire in Gaza could be close. Eyal Zamir, chief of staff of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), told Israeli media that "conditions were created to advance a deal" to bring about an end to the conflict in the coastal territory, and the release of hostages. In a televised address, he said: "We have achieved many significant results, we have caused great damage to the governance and military capabilities of Hamas. "Thanks to the operational power that we have demonstrated, the conditions have been created to advance a deal to release the hostages." 'This week, or next' It comes as the US president hosts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington DC on a prolonged visit this week. Mr Trump said his meetings with Mr Netanyahu were focused "on Gaza for the most part". He said: "I think we have a chance [of a ceasefire] this week, or next week." However, the US leader added: "Not definitely," saying nothing was certain about the situation in Gaza. Hamas reiterates 'keenness' to end fighting Meanwhile, Hamas has repeated its message that it is committed to the negotiations but warned of a number of sticking points despite the positive noises from senior Israeli figures. In a statement, the militant group said: "In its keenness to succeed in the ongoing efforts, the movement [Hamas] has shown the necessary flexibility and agreed to release 10 prisoners. "The key points remain under negotiation, foremost among them: the flow of aid, the withdrawal of the occupation from the territories of the Gaza Strip, and the provision of real guarantees for a permanent ceasefire." Read more: Mr Trump's special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff previously told a cabinet meeting that the anticipated ceasefire would last 60 days and involve the release of ten hostages and nine bodies. A source close to the negotiations told Sky News that the hostage release would take place in two waves during the 60 days and was conditional on the ceasefire. Israeli strikes continue It comes as Israeli attacks on Gaza continue. According to hospital officials, at least 40 Palestinians were killed in the latest attacks on Gaza - including 10 people from the same family. Nasser Hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis said the dead included 17 women and 10 children.
