Washington, United States — Iran fired ballistic missiles at a US base in Qatar on Monday but there are no known American casualties or damage to the facility, a US defense official said.
“I can confirm that Al Udeid Air Base was attacked by short-range and medium-range ballistic missiles originating from Iran today. At this time, there are no reports of US casualties,” the official said.
“We are not aware of any damage to the installation at this time,” the defense official added.
The Iranian attack came after Washington’s forces struck three of Tehran’s nuclear sites with bombs and missiles over the weekend.
The massive Al Udeid base — which hosts thousands of American personnel — includes the forward headquarters of the US Central Command as well as of its air and special operations forces.
Qatar on Monday said it “reserved the right to respond” after Iran attacked the US Al Udeid base hosted in the Gulf state, the largest American military facility in the region.
“We affirm that the State of Qatar reserves the right to respond directly in a manner proportional to the nature and scale of this blatant aggression,” foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said in a statement, adding that the US base had been evacuated as a precaution ahead of the attack.
The United Arab Emirates denounced in the “strongest terms” an attack by Iran against Al Udeid base in Qatar.
The UAE “condemns in the strongest terms the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s targeting of Al Udeid Air Base in the sisterly State of Qatar, considering it a flagrant violation of Qatar’s sovereignty and airspace,” Abu Dhabi’s foreign ministry said in a statement carried by official news agency WAM.
Saudi Arabia lambasted Iran for its “unjustifiable” attack on a US base in Qatar on Monday, offering to deploy “all its capabilities” to support Doha, with whom it has had fraught relations in the past.
Riyadh said it “condemns and denounces in the strongest terms the aggression launched by Iran against the sisterly State of Qatar… This is unacceptable and unjustifiable under any circumstances. The Kingdom affirms its solidarity and full support for… Qatar and offers all its capabilities to support the sisterly State of Qatar in any measures it takes,” Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
Oil prices sank more than five percent Monday after Iran attacked a US military base in neighboring Qatar in retaliation for US weekend strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
Near 1815 GMT, futures for West Texas Intermediate fell 6.5 percent to $69.96 a barrel, while Brent oil futures dropped 6.4 percent to $72.07 a barrel, its lowest level in 10 days.
Kuwait said it was closing its airspace “until further notice” on Monday after a similar move from Bahrain as Iran attacked a US base in Qatar in retaliation for American strikes in Iran.
“In the interest of the country’s security and safety, and in light of the precautionary measures taken in a number of neighbouring countries, which include the closure of their airports and airspace, the State of Kuwait announces the temporary closure of its airspace as a precautionary measure, effective today until further notice” the Kuwaiti Directorate General of Civil Aviation said in a statement.
