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ABC News
12-07-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Pentagon confirms Iran's attack on Qatar air base hit dome used for US communications
New satellite images show Iran's attack on a US military base in Qatar in June hit a dome housing equipment used for secure communications. Hours after the Associated Press published an analysis of the photos, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell acknowledged an Iranian ballistic missile hit the dome. Qatar did not respond to requests for comment about the damage. Tehran attacked Al Udeid Air Base outside of Qatar's capital Doha on June 23 in response to the US bombing three nuclear sites in Iran. The strike also provided the Islamic Republic with a way to retaliate which quickly led to a ceasefire, brokered by US President Donald Trump, that ended the 12-day Iran-Israel war. The Iranian attack otherwise did little damage — likely because the US evacuated its aircraft from the base, which is home to the forward headquarters of the US military's Central Command, before the attack. Mr Trump also said Iran had signalled when and how it would retaliate, allowing US and Qatari air defences to be ready for the attack, which briefly disrupted air travel in the Middle East, but otherwise did not spark a regional war long feared by analysts. Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC show the geodesic dome intact at the Al Udeid Air Base on the morning of June 23, just hours before the attack. The photo shows a satellite dish inside of the dome, known as a radome. But images taken on June 25 and every day since show the dome is gone, with some damage visible on a nearby building. The rest of the base appears largely untouched in the images. In a statement, Mr Parnell said the missile strike "did minimal damage to equipment and structures on the base". "Al Udeid Air Base remains fully operational and capable of conducting its mission, alongside our Qatari partners, to provide security and stability in the region," he said. The London-based satellite news channel Iran International first reported on the damage, citing satellite photos taken by a different provider. The White House had no immediate comment after Mr Parnell's acknowledgement. After the attack, Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said the air base had been the "target of a destructive and powerful missile attack". Iran's Supreme National Security Council also said the base had been "smashed", without offering any specific damage assessments. Potentially signalling that he knew the dome had been hit, an adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei separately said the attack disconnected the base's communications. "All equipment of the base was completely destroyed and now the US command stream and connection from Al Udeid base to its other military bases have been completely cut," Ahmad Alamolhoda, a hard-line cleric, said. However, Mr Trump described the Iranian attack as a "very weak response". He said Tehran fired 14 missiles, with 13 intercepted and one being "set free" because it was going in a "non-threatening" direction. "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," he wrote on his website Truth Social. Mr Trump visited Al Udeid Air Base on May 15 as part of his Middle East tour. AP
Arab News
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistani PM speaks to Saudi, Qatari envoys as Iran fires missiles at US air base in Qatar
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has expressed concern over Iran's missile attack on a United States (US) military base in Qatar and called for efforts to restore peace in the region, Sharif's office said on Monday, following his telephonic talk with Qatari and Saudi envoys to Islamabad. Iran launched missile attacks Monday on US military bases in Qatar and Iraq in retaliation for the American bombing of its nuclear sites, state media said, amid escalating tensions in the volatile region. Qatar said it had 'successfully intercepted' missiles targeting the US base, and added it reserved the right to respond in accordance with international law. The US confirmed its air base was targeted by missile attack from Iran and said no casualties were reported. Shortly after the attack, Sharif spoke with Qatar's Ambassador to Islamabad Ali Mubarak Ali Essa Al-Khater and expressed solidarity with the Qatari government and people. He then spoke with Saudi Arabia's Ambassador Nawaf bin Said-Al Malki. 'The Prime Minister urged that all efforts must be made to de-escalate tensions and restore peace in the region,' Sharif's office said, following his conversation with the Saudi envoy. 'He said Pakistan would continue to work closely with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to intensify peace efforts.' The Qatari and Saudi envoys thanked the prime minister for expressing solidarity and immediately reaching out to them after the development that could imperil peace and stability in the region, according to Sharif's office. Qatar earlier said it condemned the Iranian missile attack, 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. The Al-Udeid air base is home to the US Combined Air Operations Center (CAOC), which provides command and control of air power across the region as well as the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, the largest expeditionary wing in the world. Iran's retaliation came a day after the US launched a surprise attack Sunday morning on three of Iran's nuclear sites, joining Israel in the biggest Western military action against the Islamic Republic since its 1979 revolution. 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.'
RNZ News
23-06-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Live: Iran strikes US base in Qatar in response to US attack on Iranian nuclear sites
People film projectiles over Doha in Qatar on 23 June, 2025. Qatar has condemned an Iranian attack on the largest US military base in the region, hosted in the Gulf state, calling it a "flagrant violation" of its sovereignty". Photo: AFP Qatar has condemned Iran for attacking the US' Al Udeid Air Base, calling it "a flagrant violation of Qatar's sovereignty and airspace". Iran fired missiles in response to a US attack on Iranian nuclear facilities at the weekend. Explosions were heard over Qatar's capital Doha on Monday, a Reuters witness reported, shortly after a Western diplomat said there had been a credible Iranian threat against the base. Iranian state TV later said the country had begun an operation against a US base in Qatar. Qatar said it reserved the right to respond directly and in accordance with international law. Israel had earlier carried out fresh strikes against Iran including on the capital Tehran and the Iranian nuclear facility at Fordow, a target of the US attack at the weekend. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed the notorious Evin prison had been targeted, alongside several other sites, including the flagship building of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard. Corps. - Reuters / CNN
