Iran has targeted its military assets in the Middle East in response to the United States’ direct involvement in the Iran-Israel conflict.
According to Ali Akbar Velayati, an adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, bases “in the region or elsewhere” could be attacked in retaliation for US attacks the day before.
As Iran attacked Qatar’s largest military base in the Middle East, Al Udeid Air Base, explosions erupted over Doha later that evening as they sounded.
What is the complete Al Udeid information:
Al Udeid, who is he?
The US’s biggest military base in the region, Al Udeid, is located 120 kilometers south of Iran’s border along the Gulf.
The 24-hectare (60-acre) base, which is located in the desert near Doha, serves as the US Central Command’s front office, which oversees US military operations in a sizable area of territory that extends from Egypt to Kazakhstan in the east.
The Qatar Emiri Air Force, the US Air Force, the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom, and other international organizations are housed there.
It houses around 10, 000 troops.
Al Udeid’s “long, well-maintained runways enable rapid deployment, making it a crucial component of US force projection,” according to a Washington, DC-based newspaper earlier this year.
Qatar’s involvement in Al Udeid “has kept it at the forefront of military readiness while saving US taxpayers billions of dollars,” according to The Hill. Qatar spent more than $ 8 billion on infrastructure upgrades over the years, according to the report.
The base has participated in numerous humanitarian missions, including the 2021 evacuation of Kabul, and has been a key player in air campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan.
What makes it news?
In response to Iranian threats, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry announced on Monday that it had temporarily closed its airspace.
According to the ministry, “the competent authorities announce the temporary suspension of air traffic in the nation’s airspace as part of a series of precautionary measures taken in response to developments in the region.”
The US and UK embassies in Qatar were forced to close several hours after the statement that there was “an abundance of caution” was made available to the country’s citizens.
A Western diplomat claimed there had been a credible Iranian threat against Al Udeid since Monday at noon, according to a Reuters citation later.
Qatar’s defense minister, who was cited by Al Jazeera in that evening, claimed that the nation’s air defenses had intercepted missiles fired at Al Udeid.
Al Udeid had the attack in mind.
The US appears to have started taking precautionary measures before attacking Iran’s nuclear sites.
Hundreds of US military aircraft were no longer on the tarmac at the base, according to news agency AFP, who based its assessment on satellite images that Planet Labs PBC had provided. US President Donald Trump was considering direct involvement in the Iran-Israel conflict.
On June 5, nearly 40 military aircraft, including transport planes like the Hercules C-130 and reconnaissance planes, were parked on the tarmac at the base, the Pentagon’s Central Command’s regional headquarters. However, three aircraft could only be seen in an image taken on June 19th.
Aircraft that were not in hardened shelters, according to a US official who spoke to Reuters. Additionally, he claimed that US Navy vessels have been moved from Bahrain, where the country’s fifth fleet is based.
The official continued, “It is not a common practice.” The priority is foregoing force protection.
Was Al Udeid a target of US nuclear attacks?
No.
B-2 bombers were reportedly heading to Guam, which was a ruse, prior to the US attack on nuclear sites on Sunday.
Seven B-2 stealth bombers left Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, United States, at 00:01 EDT (04:01 GMT), as all eyes were directed West, reportedly. The top-secret flights directly reached Iran over the Atlantic.
In the US offensive against Iran, none of the US bases in the Middle East were deployed.
How has Qatar responded to Al-Udeid’s attack?
Qatar called the air base attack a “flagrant violation” of its sovereignty and blasted it.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ attack on Al Udeid Air Base is a flagrant violation of international law, according to Majed Al-Ansari, a spokesman for the foreign ministry.
Source: Aljazeera
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