Iran launches missile strikes on US air bases in Qatar and Iraq

Iran has launched missile strikes targeting American air bases in Qatar and Iraq, with explosions heard over the Qatari capital Doha today, according to Reuters reports.

Iranian state television announced the attack on US forces stationed at Qatar’s Al Udeid air base, describing it as “a mighty and successful response by the armed forces of Iran to America’s aggression” in a broadcast accompanied by martial music.

An Israeli official told Axios that Iran fired six missiles directed at US air bases in Qatar, whilst Sky News reported that American air bases in Iraq were also targeted in the strikes.

The attacks prompted Qatar to close its airspace as a precautionary measure amid the Iranian threats. Both US and UK embassies in Qatar have advised their citizens to “shelter in place” following the missile launches.

Gas-rich Qatar, which lies 190 kilometres (120 miles) south of Iran across the Gulf, is home to the United States' largest military base in the region, Al Udeid, which hosts the regional headquarters of the Pentagon's Central Command.

"The competent authorities announce the temporary suspension of air traffic in the country's airspace, as part of a set of precautionary measures taken based on developments in the region," the foreign ministry said.

It added authorities were monitoring the situation "in coordination with regional and international partners".

Earlier, the U.S. embassy in Qatar advised Americans there not to go out, with other Western embassies echoing the warning.

"Out of an abundance of caution we recommend American citizens shelter in place until further notice," the U.S. embassy said on its website.

Britain and Canada later cited the U.S. security alert in their own recommendations to nationals.

Iran's armed forces threatened on Monday to inflict "serious, unpredictable consequences" on the U.S. after it joined its ally Israel's campaign against the Islamic republic, carrying out heavy strikes on three nuclear sites.

Last week, dozens of U.S. military aircraft were no longer on the tarmac at al-Udeid, according to satellite images published by Planet Labs PBC and analysed by AFP.

Nearly 40 military aircraft — including transport planes like the Hercules C-130 and reconnaissance aircraft — were parked on the tarmac at the base, the regional headquarters of the Pentagon's Central Command, on June 5, but in an image taken on June 19, only three aircraft were visible.

In Bahrain, a close neighbour of Qatar that hosts the U.S. Fifth Fleet, the American embassy "temporarily shifted a portion of its employees to local telework", it said on X.

Bahraini authorities had already told most government employees to work from home until further notice, citing "regional circumstances".

Following the U.S. warning in Doha, Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said such statements by foreign embassies "do not necessarily reflect the existence of specific or credible threats".

"We would like to reassure the public that the security situation in the state remains stable," he wrote on X. "Qatar continues to exert intensive diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region."

On Sunday, the U.S. State Department advised Americans worldwide to "exercise increased caution" because of the war between Israel and Iran.

After Israel's first strikes on Iran on June 13, the U.S. embassy in Qatar had told its staff and other Americans to exercise caution and "limit non-essential travel to Al Udeid Air Base".