Iran Launches Missiles at US Air Base in Qatar

Tehran has launched missiles toward Udeid US air base in Qatar, Iran state media reported, in response to the US airstrikes on the weekend on Iran’s nuclear sites.

Qatar announced the closure of its airspace a short time before news of the strike.

Reuters reports that the air defense system was also activated at the US air base in Iraq out of concern for a potential attack.

The attack included at least ten missiles fired toward the US base in Qatar, according to a person familiar with the matter.

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 said. President Donald Trump was due to meet with his national security team at 1 p.m. Washington time in the Oval Office.

Al Udeid is the regional headquarters for US Central Command, which oversees the American military in the Middle East. There are about 9,000 US service members in gas-rich Qatar, which sits just across the Persian Gulf from Iran.

The move comes after the US struck three major nuclear sites in Iran on Saturday night. Donald Trump said they were “obliterated” – although UN nuclear monitors said it was too early and difficult to say – and Tehran vowed to retaliate.