With Agency reports
President Donald Trump announced Monday that Israel and Iran have agreed to a ceasefire, which he said will end the 12-day exchange of attacks between the countries in a conflict that prompted concerns of significant destabilization of the Middle East.
Iran launches missile strike on US base in Qatar, citing retaliation for aggression
In a post on Truth Social, Trump announced that Israel and Iran agreed to a “Complete and Total CEASEFIRE” in the next 24 hours, after days of exchanging air and missile strikes.
The president offered no further details about what either side agreed to, but insisted both sides would “remain PEACEFUL and RESPECTFUL.”
Trump said “hardly any damage was done,” while 13 of the missiles Iran fired were “knocked down” and one was “set free,” he wrote, making multiple inferences that there would be no escalation of the military conflict between Tehran and Washington, while also thanking Iran for “giving us early notice” of the counterstrikes.
Trump said Iran has “gotten it all out of their ‘system,’ and there will, hopefully, be no further hate,” writing “CONGRATULATIONS WORLD, IT’S TIME FOR PEACE!” in the series of posts.
Officials at the Department of Defense confirmed to multiple outlets that Al Udeid Air Force base was targeted by short and medium-range ballistic missiles, but no casualties have been reported from the attack.
Bahrain, a neighboring monarchy in the Persian Gulf and the host of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, closed its airspace Monday,
The Bahraini Interior Ministry warned citizens to stay off main roads after air raid sirens sounded, according to statements from the government on X.
In televised remarks, the Iranian government took credit for the attack, which it called “a mighty and successful response” to the American strikes.
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said the missile strike “posed no danger to our friendly and brotherly nation of Qatar and its honorable people,” and the New York Times reported Iranian officials gave their Qatari counterparts advance notice.
The Iranian government gave the warning in order to minimize casualties, the Times reported, citing anonymous Iranian officials.
Majed Al-Ansari, a spokesperson for the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs, condemned the attack and said the nation’s air defenses “successfully thwarted the attack and intercepted the Iranian missiles.”
The Ain al-Assad Air Force Base in Iraq was also targeted, the Associated Press reported, citing an Iraqi official, but the U.S. military has not confirmed this.
However, missiles never arrived at base and the U.S. confirmed the base was never hit, the wire service later updated.
Witnesses on social media posted videos of what appeared to be missiles streaking across the skies over Qatar.
Axios first reported Iran fired six missiles toward the Gulf nation, citing an anonymous Israeli official.
