Iran launched a missile attack Monday, June 23, on US military bases in Qatar and Iraq, retaliating for the American bombing of its nuclear sites and escalating tensions in the volatile region.
Iran announced on state television that it had attacked American forces stationed at Qatar's Al Udeid Air Base. A caption on screen called it "a mighty and successful response" to "America’s aggression" as martial music played. Qatar said it had successfully intercepted the attack. It came shortly after Qatar closed its airspace as a precaution amid threats from Iran.
Iran also targeted the Ain al-Assad base housing US troops in western Iraq, an Iraqi security official told The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.
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."
In the past, Iran has threatened American forces at Al Udeid Air Base, which hosts the forward headquarters of the US military's Central Command. Qatar, across the Persian Gulf from Iran, maintains diplomatic relations with Iran and shares a massive offshore natural gas field with Tehran.
Earlier in the day, Israel expanded its war against Iran to include targets associated with the country's struggling theocracy, striking the gate of a Tehran prison notorious for holding political activists and hitting the headquarters of the military force that suppressed recent protests.
As plumes of thick smoke rose over Tehran, Israel was attacked with yet another barrage of Iranian missiles and drones. The persistent fire has become a reality for civilians in both countries since Israel started the war to target Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program.