 "In this photo released on Monday by Iranian army press service, Iran's army commander-in-chief Gen. Amir Hatami, center, accompanied by high ranked army commanders, speaks in a video call with top commanders of the army, in Zolfaghar central headquarters, Iran, as portraits of the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, left, and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hang on the wall. AP")
Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday condemned Iran’s missile attack on a US military base in Qatar as “unjustifiable” and a “flagrant violation of Qatar’s sovereignty and airspace” and pledged to deploy “all its capabilities” to support Doha.
Saudi Arabia, which historically has strained ties with Qatar, 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.”
The UAE also denounced the attack on the US base in Qatar in the “strongest terms”.
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.
Earlier, Qatari authorities said there were no casualties in the attack, which it condemned and said it reserved the right to respond.
“We express the State of Qatar’s strong condemnation of the attack on Al Udeid Air Base by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, and consider it a flagrant violation of the State of Qatar’s sovereignty and airspace, as well as of international law,” AFP quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari as saying.
Meanwhile, according to a Reuters report, citing a source familiar with the matter, Iran coordinated its strikes on US bases in Qatar, prompting air space closure.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe New York Times, which first reported the coordination, said Iran took the action to minimise casualties.
Iran’s military said on Monday that it carried out a “devastating and powerful” missile strike against the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar after explosions rattled the Qatari capital.
The attack was in response to US airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities over the weekend.
US officials confirmed that no American personnel were injured in the attack on Al Udeid, the largest US military installation in West Asia.
Iran, which had been warned by Washington not to retaliate or face massive US military action, had informed the US via two diplomatic channels hours ahead of the attack, as well as Qatari authorities, a senior regional source told Reuters.
Qatar’s defence minister told Al Jazeera that the country’s air defences successfully intercepted the missiles.
Iran had issued threats to retaliate against the United States after U.S. bombers dropped 30,000-pound bunker-busters on Iranian underground nuclear facilities at the weekend, joining Israel’s air war against Tehran, and President Donald Trump mooted the possibility of the Iranian government being toppled.
With inputs from agencies