--- title: "Iran fires missiles at US airbase in Qatar; attack intercepted with no casualties, says Doha" description: "Iran, which Washington had warned not to retaliate or face massive US military action, had informed the US via two diplomatic channels hours ahead of the attack." type: "NewsArticle" publisher: "Daily Maverick" site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za" section: "MIDDLE EAST CRISIS" author: "Reuters" author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/" canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-06-23-iran-fires-missiles-at-us-airbase-in-qatar-attack-intercepted-with-no-casualties-says-doha/" published: "2025-06-23T22:08:49" updated: "2025-06-24T09:43:51" lang: "en-ZA" word_count: 939 --- # Iran fires missiles at US airbase in Qatar; attack intercepted with no casualties, says Doha > Iran, which Washington had warned not to retaliate or face massive US military action, had informed the US via two diplomatic channels hours ahead of the attack. By Reuters · Published 24 June 2025, 00:08 SAST · Updated 24 June 2025, 11:43 SAST ## Key points - In a dramatic display of military bravado, Iran launched a missile attack on the Al Udeid airbase in Qatar. - Iran launched a missile attack on the Al Udeid US airbase in Qatar, claiming it was a powerful retaliation for US airstrikes on its nuclear facilities. - US officials reported no casualties among personnel at the base, while Qatar's air defenses intercepted the missiles. - The attack followed warnings from Iran to the US and Qatar, as tensions escalated after Israel bombed key Iranian sites, including a political prison. - Despite threats to disrupt oil shipments, oil prices fell, indicating scepticism about Iran's ability to follow through on its aggressive rhetoric. ## Content - Iran’s military said it carried out a missile attack on the Al Udeid US airbase in Qatar on Monday after explosions were heard across the Qatari capital following Tehran’s threat to retaliate for US airstrikes on its nuclear sites. The Iranian military said the attack was “devastating and powerful”, but US officials said no US personnel were killed or injured in the attack on the airbase, the largest US military installation in the Middle East. Iran, which had been warned by Washington not to retaliate or face massive US military action, had informed the US via two diplomatic channels hours ahead of the attack, as well as Qatari authorities, a senior regional source told Reuters. Qatar’s defence minister told Al Jazeera its air defences had intercepted missiles directed at the base. Iran had issued threats [to retaliate](https://www.reuters.com/world/world-braces-irans-response-trump-raises-idea-regime-change-2025-06-23/) against the United States after US bombers dropped 13.6-tonne (30,000-pound) bunker-busters on Iranian underground nuclear facilities at the weekend, joining Israel’s air war against Tehran, and President Donald Trump mooted the possibility of the Iranian government being toppled. The attack came shortly after a Western diplomat told Reuters there had been a credible threat to a US military base in the Gulf state following the unprecedented US airstrikes on Iran’s uranium enrichment programme. A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that Qatar, situated just across the Gulf from Iran, had shut its airspace after receiving the warning from Iran. Bahrain, another US-allied Gulf Arab state just to the north of Qatar, said it had also shut its airspace after the Iranian strike against the Al Udeid base. ![Al-Udeid is the biggest military facility used by Washington in the Gulf. (Photo: Qatar Defence Ministry)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/_ltDEYs-kuVFbj7ke8ofT--Yjfw=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Al-Udeid-Air-Base.jpg) *Al-Udeid is the biggest military facility used by Washington in the Gulf. (Photo: Qatar Defence Ministry)* In addition, the US Ain al-Asad airbase in Iraq had activated its air defence system out of concern for a potential attack, said military sources. The main US military base in Iraq’s western neighbour Syria was also on full alert for possible attack by Iran or Iran-aligned militia groups, said a Syrian security source. Qatar, a small, wealthy Gulf Arab state, had earlier announced it had [closed its airspace](https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-embassy-qatar-recommends-sheltering-place-qatar-says-situation-stable-2025-06-23/) temporarily to ensure the safety of residents and visitors. That followed an advisory from the US embassy in Qatar to Americans to [shelter in place](https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-embassy-qatar-recommends-sheltering-place-qatar-says-situation-stable-2025-06-23/), out of what it said was “an abundance of caution”. Two US officials said Washington had assessed that Iran [could carry out attacks](https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iranian-retaliation-against-us-forces-could-come-soon-us-officials-say-2025-06-23/) targeting US forces in the Middle East soon, although the US was still seeking a diplomatic resolution that would see Tehran forgo any reprisal. Earlier on Monday, Israel bombed a political prison in Tehran, in a renewed demonstration of its willingness to strike not only beyond military and nuclear targets but key pillars of Iran’s ruling system. Despite Iran’s threats to challenge oil shipments from the Gulf, oil prices fell by 4% in volatile trading, suggesting traders doubted the Islamic Republic would follow through on any action that would disrupt global supplies. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi met [Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow](https://www.reuters.com/world/china/irans-supreme-leader-asks-putin-do-more-after-us-strikes-2025-06-23/) as Tehran sought backing from one of its last major power friends for its next steps. #### **‘Viva la libertad’** Israel made clear that its strikes on Evin prison and other targets in Tehran were intended to hit the Iranian ruling apparatus broadly and its ability to sustain power. “Viva la libertad!” wrote Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on X, accompanying a video of an explosion at a building with a sign identifying it as an entrance to Evin prison. Reuters could not immediately verify the video posted by Saar, although other videos showing the aftermath of the strike on the prison were verified as genuine. Iran’s Irib state broadcaster released video showing rescue workers combing the flattened wreckage of a building at the prison, carrying a wounded man on a stretcher. The Mizan news outlet of Iran’s judiciary said urgent action was being taken to protect the health and safety of inmates there. Evin has long been Iran’s primary prison for housing political detainees and security prisoners, as well as the site of executions. Several high-profile foreign prisoners are held there. Israel’s military said it had also struck Revolutionary Guard command centres responsible for internal security in the Tehran area. The military was “currently striking, with unprecedented force, regime targets and governmental repression bodies in the heart of Tehran”, said Defense Minister Israel Katz. Much of Tehran’s population of 10 million has fled after 10 days of bombing. Tasnim news agency reported a strike at an electricity feeder station in the Evin neighbourhood. Power company Tavanir reported that some areas in the capital saw electricity cuts. #### **Limited options** Since Trump joined Israel’s campaign by dropping massive bunker-buster bombs on Iranian nuclear production sites on Sunday morning, [Iran](https://www.reuters.com/world/iran/) has repeatedly threatened to retaliate. “Mr Trump, the gambler, you may start this war, but we will be the ones to end it,” said Ebrahim Zolfaqari, spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya central military headquarters, on Monday in a recorded, English-language video statement. The Trump administration maintains that its aim is solely to destroy Iran’s nuclear programme, not to open a wider war. But in a social media post on Sunday, Trump spoke of toppling the hardline clerical rulers who have been Washington’s principal foes in the Middle East since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. Five insiders with knowledge of the discussions said efforts had been ramped up to anoint a successor for Iran’s 86-year-old supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. His son Mojtaba (56), and Hassan Khomeini (53), grandson of the revolution’s founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, were now seen [as the frontrunners](https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/succession-plans-irans-khamenei-hit-top-gear-2025-06-23/), they said. **DM** [Media on Daily Maverick: "US war on Iran"](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-06-23-iran-fires-missiles-at-us-airbase-in-qatar-attack-intercepted-with-no-casualties-says-doha/)