US President Donald Trump thanked Iran’s advance notice of its strikes, praising Tehran for preventing casualties.
“I appreciate Iran for giving us a warning,” he stated. “That allowed us to protect lives and ensure nobody was injured.”
Shortly after Iran’s attempted aerial attack on the US-run Al Udeid base in Qatar, Trump made it clear that Washington had no plans for retaliation. Posting on X hours after the incident, he expressed hope that this would be the end of the matter:
“Hopefully Iran has gotten this out of their system and we can all look toward a period of peace,” he wrote.
He added that the situation could pave the way for greater stability in the region and encouraged Israel to follow suit.
“Iran might now embrace harmony in the region,” Trump posted, promising to support Israel if it did.
In his remarks, Trump also took a jab at Tehran, calling its response to America’s earlier airstrikes “weak,” claiming that 13 of the 14 fired Iranian missiles were intercepted.
“One was allowed to pass, as it was heading in a nonthreatening direction,” he noted.
Trump confirmed that a full ceasefire between Iran and Israel was set to go into effect to help end the ongoing hostilities. This followed his earlier announcement celebrating the success of US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites over the weekend.
“We successfully targeted Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan,” he wrote, hailing the precision of the operation and the safe return of all American aircraft. “No military in the world could have achieved this. Now is the time for peace!”
Despite this ceasefire, Iran had earlier warned of serious repercussions against the US. After consulting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian officials framed the strikes as retaliation for America’s destruction of nuclear facilities.
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council stated that their strikes were part of “Operation Besharat Fatah,” characterizing them as a proportional response to America’s attack.
“Whoever strikes us, we will strike them back in equal measure,” the statement read.
The missile attack on the Al Udeid base occurred two days after America’s raid on Iranian enrichment facilities. Late that evening, loud explosions were heard across Qatar’s capital as the strikes took place.
Qatar, which had been warned in advance of the attack, quickly intercepted the missiles but still condemned the assault as a blatant violation of its sovereignty.
“We strongly oppose this breach of our airspace and international law,” Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman, Majed Al-Ansari, said.
In response to the attack, Qatar and four neighboring nations temporarily closed their airspace, though flights have since resumed in Bahrain and Kuwait.
About Al Udeid Air Base
Al Udeid is the largest US military facility in the Middle East. Built in 1996, it covers 60 acres and can support up to 100 aircraft and drones. It also houses approximately 10,000 troops and serves as CENTCOM’s regional headquarters, playing a key role in US operations across Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan.
