Iran Fires Missiles at U.S. Base in Qatar, After Warning U.S. of Strike
June 23—Iran fired a salvo of 14 ballistic missiles at the largest U.S. military installation in the region, the Al Udeid Air Base, after giving the U.S. advance warning of the strike to minimize potential loss of life. All missiles but one were reported to have been intercepted by combined Qatari and U.S. defense systems; the other missile was allowed to pass through the space, missing its target. There were no reports of any injuries.
President Donald Trump said today on his social media platform that “in addition to no Americans being killed or wounded, very importantly, there have also been no Qataris killed or wounded,” in the Iranian missile attack on a U.S. base in Qatar. “There have been 14 missiles fired — 13 were knocked down, and 1 was ‘set free,’ because it was headed in a nonthreatening direction,” he wrote in another post.
“I want to thank Iran for giving us early notice,” Mr. Trump added. Officials have said that Qatar and the United States had received advance warning of the attack but have not said through what channels. Mr. Trump suggested that Iran had “gotten it all out of their ‘system,’ and there will, hopefully, be no further HATE.”
Putin Urges Restraint and Proposes Settlement Terms
The attack came hours after a delegation of Iranian officials met in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who urged Iran to remain calm and not to escalate the crisis, while acknowledging that Iran had the right to retaliate against the U.S. for its attack on three Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend. Sources report that Putin told Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi that the solution to the crisis required a negotiated settlement where Iran completely gave up any ambition to develop a nuclear weapon, while allowing for its peaceful use of nuclear programs for power and research. The Russian leader said that he, along with President Trump, would guarantee the deal and that the Russians would work with Iran to provide it with non-weapons-grade enriched uranium for its peaceful use.
These sources say that Putin reiterated that while Russia sought to have a secure and sovereign Iran, it would not provide it with weapons, nor would it come to its aid if it chose to fight Israel and the United States over its nuclear program.
Tensions Between Trump and Netanyahu Over Ground War
"I am very happy to see the Iranians operating with great restraint and common sense in their response," said an expert with 50 years' experience in the region who had predicted precisely the Iranian response. "If they continue down this path, they will frustrate [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Bibi's [Netanyahu's] efforts to draw the United States into a wider war for the destruction of Iran, that his messianic mind demands. Trump wants no part of that forever war. He was there for the nukes and nothing else. Once a clear end to the nuclear bomb program is secured, Trump is out of there."
That is what is behind the discussion of whether the attacks—especially on the embedded Fordow site—have done the job President Trump claimed they did. If they didn't, then Netanyahu, sources report, will ask for "boots on the ground" to finish the job and for the U.S. to come in with Israel. If there is military action inside Iran, then you are talking about a mass casualty situation, as the well-trained Revolutionary Guard units are committed to die in martyrdom for their country. "The U.S. and even the Israelis are not prepared for this," the source stated. "The way to end this is through a deal that Trump wants, that the Russians can help broker, and that Iran wants. That leaves Bibi out on his own limb, which Trump can politically cut off at any time."
Path Forward: Diplomacy or Escalation
The U.S. will now press for the finalization of such a deal and the restart of negotiations, said the source. "I expect we will know about this in days."
The New York Times reported today, citing unnamed Iranian officials, that "Iran might have been looking for an off-ramp to the conflict, even as it targeted the base despite warnings from the Trump administration not to retaliate for the American bombing over the weekend." Three Iranian officials confirmed the reports that Iran gave advance notice of the strike to minimize casualties. In discussing the attack on the air base, the Iranian officials said their country needed to be seen striking back at the United States for its attack on the nuclear installations, but in a calibrated way.