Iran claims it has carried out a “mighty and successful response” to “America’s aggression” after launching missile attacks on US military bases in Qatar and Iraq.
The attacks come after the US dropped “bunker buster bombs” on three key nuclear sites in Iran over the weekend.
Iran’s response this evening is the latest escalation in tensions in the volatile region.
Qatar has said there are no casualties at the al Udeid base following the strikes and that its “air defences thwarted the attack and successfully intercepted the Iranian missiles”.
People in Qatar’s capital, Doha, had stopped and gazed up at the sky as missiles flew and interceptors fired.
Follow latest: Iran attacks US bases
Iran had announced on state television that it had attacked American forces stationed at the al Udeid airbase.
A caption on screen called it “a mighty and successful response” to “America’s aggression” as martial music played.
Iran also targeted the Ain al-Assad base housing US troops in western Iraq, an Iraqi security official told the Associated Press.
Traces are seen in the sky over Qatar after Iran’s armed forces targeted the al Udeid base. Pic: Reuters
A US government official has said the White House and US defence department is “closely monitoring” the potential threats to its base.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump is in the Situation Room in the White House with his team following the Iranian strikes.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
The attacks came shortly after Qatar closed its airspace as a precaution amid threats from Iran.
Senior diplomatic sources in the region have told Sky News that some Gulf nations and the US were given prior warning before Iran launched its missiles.
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.”
