Washington, 24 June (H.S.): US President Donald Trump indicated that Iran’s missile attack on the Al Udeid air base in Qatar would not provoke a US retaliation. He expressed a desire for Iran to have gotten it all out of their ‘system’ and hoped for peace and harmony in the region, while also encouraging Israel to pursue the same. Trump monitored events from the White House, making remarks about Iran’s weak response to prior US strikes on its nuclear facilities, noting that 14 missiles were launched, 13 of which were intercepted, and one was allowed to proceed due to its non-threatening direction. He also thanked Iran for the advance warning that prevented casualties.

While announcing the US attack over the weekend too, President Trump had said, NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE! We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE! Thank you for your attention to this matter, his post had read.

In contrast, Iran threatened serious, unpredictable consequences and justified its attack as retaliation for the US aggression on its nuclear facilities.Iran’s military described the missile strike on the Al Udeid base as part of Operation Besharat Fatah, citing a direct response to US actions. The Iranian government emphasized the equivalency in the number of missiles launched and bombs dropped by the US.

Following the missile attack, Qatar condemned the aggression as a violation of its sovereignty and international law, clarifying that it had received advance notice from Iran about the strikes, which resulted in no casualties due to effective interception by its air defense system. Following the attack, Qatar and four other countries closed their airspace, although some, like Bahrain and Kuwait, have since resumed operations. The Al Udeid base, the largest US military installation in the Middle East, plays a crucial role in regional US military operations.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar