Iran Missile Strike on Al Udeid Base

Iran launched a missile strike on the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, a key United States military installation, on June 23. This attack was in retaliation for the United States' bombing of three nuclear sites in Iran. Satellite images analyzed by Associated Press and Planet Labs confirmed that the strike hit a geodesic dome housing secure communications equipment, which the United States Air Force had installed in 2016 for $15 million. Although Donald Trump downplayed the attack as 'very weak' and 'nonthreatening,' and the United States had evacuated aircraft from the base beforehand, the dome was destroyed, and a nearby building sustained damage. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell later acknowledged the missile hit, stating it caused minimal damage and the base remained operational. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iran — Supreme National Security Council boasted about the attack, with an adviser to Ali Khamenei, Ahmad Alamolhoda, claiming communications were cut. The incident quickly led to a ceasefire, brokered by Donald Trump, ending the 12-day Iran-Israel war, preventing a feared regional escalation.