Iran attacks Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar after US strikes

By Umut Uras, Farah Najjar, Ali Harb and Alma Milisic

Al Jazeera 23 Jun 2025

• Iran says it launched an attack on United States forces at Al Udeid Air Base. Qatar says its air defenses successfully thwarted the attack on the facility, which had been evacuated.
• US official confirms base was attacked by short-range and medium-range ballistic missiles from Iran; no casualties reported so far.
• Explosions rock Iran’s capital, Tehran, as Israel announces attacks on government and military sites; Iran also sends waves of missiles and drones into Israel, with blasts heard in multiple cities.
• Israeli air raids target the outskirts of several areas in south Lebanon, including the villages of Zrariyeh, Kfrar Milki and Ansar.
• President Donald Trump has hinted at the demise of Iran’s leadership saying: “If the current Iranian regime is unable to make Iran great again, why wouldn’t there be a regime change?”
• Iran says more than 400 people, including 13 children, have been killed and at least 3,056 others wounded since Israel launched its attack on June 13. In Israel, at least 24 people have been killed in Iranian strikes.

Full text: IRGC statement on Al Udeid base attack

Here’s the translated version of the full statement by the IRGC on the attack it launched earlier today:

“To the noble and resilient people of Iran:

“Following the blatant military aggression by the criminal regime of the United States of America against the peaceful nuclear facilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its clear violation of international law, and based on the decision of the Supreme National Security Council and the leadership of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters (PBUH), the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has, under the sacred code name “Ya Aba Abdillah al-Hussain (AS),” launched a powerful and devastating missile attack on the Al-Udeid Airbase in Qatar as part of Operation Good News of Victory.

“This base serves as the command center of the US Air Force and is the largest strategic asset of the American terrorist army in West Asia.

“The message of this decisive action by the sons of our nation in the armed forces to the White House and its allies is clear and direct:

The Islamic Republic of Iran, relying on Almighty God and supported by the faithful and proud people of Islamic Iran, will under no circumstances leave any aggression against its territorial integrity, sovereignty, or national security unanswered.

“The American enemy’s aggression has once again exposed that Zionist malevolence is a continuation of US schemes. Accordingly, we emphasize that in this national defense, US bases and mobile military assets in the region are not points of strength, but rather major vulnerabilities and the Achilles’ heel of this warmongering regime.

“On the eve of Muharram—the month of mourning for the Master of Martyrs, Imam Hussain (AS)—we once again warn the enemies of Islamic Iran:

“The era of hit-and-run is over.

“The resolve of our powerful and popular armed forces is such that any repetition of hostile acts will accelerate the collapse of U.S. military structures in the region, lead to their disgraceful retreat from West Asia, and contribute to the realization of the shared aspiration of the Islamic Ummah and freedom-seeking nations around the world: the eradication of the cancerous Zionist regime.”

Liqaa Maki, a scholar at Al Jazeera Media Institute, says the US my be able to withstand Iranian attacks on its bases without responding if they do not cause casualties.

“The US, after the important strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, needs to transform the military achievement into a political one enshrined by an agreement,” Maki said.

He noted that Iran still has large quantities of highly enriched uranium as well as nuclear know-how.

“So in two to three years, Iran could resume its nuclear activity but without inspections. It could produce a bomb without the world noticing,” Maki said.

He added that the US will be looking to “invest” the strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites to secure a new deal that would curb or end Iran’s nuclear programme.☀