Panic unfolded as Iran attacked US bases in Qatar and Iraq

After a night on high alert, American forces across the region braced for an imminent attack as Iranian missiles were launched at US air bases in Qatar and Iraq. The attacks stoked panic over a conflict which has been gripping the Middle East.

On the eve of June 23rd, explosions echoed through Doha as Iranian missiles were launched at the Al Udeid Air Base, the largest American military installation in the region, reports AP. A Qatari military official stated that 18 out of 19 missiles were intercepted, with one hitting the base. The Pentagon confirmed that “at this time, there are no reports of U.S. casualties,” Al Jazeera reported on June 23rd.

Shortly after, Iran launched missiles at the Ain al-Assad base in Iraq; however, Iraqi sources said the missiles “never arrived,” suggesting they missed their mark or were also shot down.

The attacks followed Donald Trump’s shocking announcement that U.S. forces had intervened in Israel’s war on Iran, dropping bunker-buster bombs on nuclear facilities in Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan. The 30,000-pound bombs are designed to destroy deep underground bunkers or, in this case, alleged weapons buried in highly protected facilities.

While Trump boasted that the operation–code-named Midnight Hammer– “totally obliterated” Iran’s nuclear capabilities, the reality might be murkier. Top officials, including Vice President J.D. Vance, have admitted that US intelligence has yet to determine the state of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile.

Meanwhile, Iran has downplayed the impact of the attacks. Apparently, the three nuclear sites had been evacuated “a while ago,” and they “didn’t suffer a major blow because the materials had already been taken out,” the deputy political director of Iran’s state broadcaster, Hassan Abedini said, according to the BBC on June 22nd.

Nonetheless, Iran vowed a fierce response. Ebrahim Zolfaghari, the acting spokesperson of Iran’s retaliatory strikes against Israel, said in a chilling address: “Gambler Trump, you may start this war, but we will be the ones to finish it.”

Tehran’s sharp threats may have prompted panic across the region, but sources close to Doha suggest a paper tiger might be at play.

Three anonymous Iranian officials have informed The New York Times that “Iran had given advance notice that attacks were coming, as a way to minimize casualties,” alluding that “Iran needed to be seen striking back at the United States, but in a way that allowed all sides an exit ramp.”

These tactics echo those used by the Islamic Republic in 2020 when Iranian officials issued a heads-up before firing ballistic missiles at an American base in Iraq after the assassination of their top general, Qassim Suleimani.

In the past 10 days, Israeli strikes have inflicted crippling levels of damage on Iran’s chain of command and military hardware. Top-ranking officials and leading nuclear scientists have been killed, promising lasting devastation that has only increased with America’s entry into the war.

According to some analysts, the damage Iran has sustained, both physically and to its reputation within the region, necessitated a strong response to save face. The strikes on Qatar afforded the country just that. According to Al-Monitor on June 23rd, Iranians gathered in Tehran to celebrate the attacks as demonstrators waved the flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran and chanted “death to America!”

AP, The New York Times, Maghrebi.org, Fortune, Al Jazeera, The Guardian, BBC, Al-Monitor