{"id":258498,"date":"2025-07-12T08:49:12","date_gmt":"2025-07-12T08:49:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/258498\/"},"modified":"2025-07-12T08:49:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-12T08:49:12","slug":"pentagon-confirms-irans-attack-on-qatar-air-base-hit-dome-used-for-us-communications","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/258498\/","title":{"rendered":"Pentagon confirms Iran&#8217;s attack on Qatar air base hit dome used for US communications"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">New satellite images show Iran&#8217;s attack on a US military base in Qatar in June hit a dome housing equipment used for secure communications.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">Hours after the Associated Press published an analysis of the photos, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell acknowledged an Iranian ballistic missile hit the dome.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">Qatar did not respond to requests for comment about the damage.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2025-06-24\/iran-strikes-against-us-middle-east-targets-how-it-happened\/105452590\" data-component=\"FullBleedLink\" class=\"RelatedCard_link__rsgR9 FullBleedLink_root__lTw_U interactive_focusContext__yRhc_ interactive_defaults__AKxUU FullBleedLink_showVisited__g3Xvz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">How Iranian strikes against the US Al Udeid air base in Qatar unfolded<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"Typography_base__sj2RP RelatedCard_synopsis__cFwMW Typography_sizeMobile14__u7TGe Typography_lineHeightMobile20___U7Vr Typography_regular__WeIG6 Typography_colourInherit__dfnUx\" data-component=\"Typography\">Iran&#8217;s response to a US assault on its nuclear sites arrived overnight, with the Islamic Republic striking at an American air base in Qatar. Here&#8217;s how it unfolded.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\"><a class=\"Link_link__kR0xA Link_link__5eL5m ScreenReaderOnly_srLinkHint__OysWz Link_showVisited__C1Fea Link_showFocus__ALyv2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2025-06-24\/qatar-explosions-iran-us-air-base\/105452258\" data-component=\"Link\" data-uri=\"coremedia:\/\/article\/105452258\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tehran attacked Al Udeid Air Base outside of Qatar&#8217;s capital Doha on June 23<\/a> in response to the <a class=\"Link_link__kR0xA Link_link__5eL5m ScreenReaderOnly_srLinkHint__OysWz Link_showVisited__C1Fea Link_showFocus__ALyv2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2025-06-22\/us-iran-nuclear-facility-strike-trump\/105446778\" data-component=\"Link\" data-uri=\"coremedia:\/\/article\/105446778\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">US bombing three nuclear sites in Iran<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">The strike also provided the Islamic Republic with a way to retaliate which quickly led to a ceasefire, brokered by US President Donald Trump, that ended the 12-day Iran-Israel war.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">The Iranian attack otherwise did little damage \u2014 likely because the US evacuated its aircraft from the base, which is home to the forward headquarters of the US military&#8217;s Central Command, before the attack.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">Mr Trump also said Iran had signalled when and how it would retaliate, allowing US and Qatari air defences to be ready for the attack, which briefly disrupted air travel in the Middle East, but otherwise did not spark a regional war long feared by analysts.<\/p>\n<p>Satellite images show attack destroyed dome<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC show the geodesic dome intact at the Al Udeid Air Base on the morning of June 23, just hours before the attack.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"pic before attack\" class=\"Image_image__5tFYM ContentImage_image__DQ_cq\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/796e2caadbd0ceaa77f02b796ccbf959\" loading=\"lazy\" data-component=\"Image\" data-lazy=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"Typography_base__sj2RP FigureCaption_text__zDxQ5 Typography_sizeMobile12__w_FPC Typography_lineHeightMobile20___U7Vr Typography_regular__WeIG6 Typography_colourInherit__dfnUx\" data-component=\"Typography\">This satellite image shows the geodesic dome intact before the attack. (AP: Planet Labs PBC\u00a0)<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">The photo shows a satellite dish inside of the dome, known as a radome.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">But images taken on June 25 and every day since show the dome is gone, with some damage visible on a nearby building.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">The rest of the base appears largely untouched in the images.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"second sat pic\" class=\"Image_image__5tFYM ContentImage_image__DQ_cq\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/313ff4bf4670c7f0e395062556cb05a7\" loading=\"lazy\" data-component=\"Image\" data-lazy=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"Typography_base__sj2RP FigureCaption_text__zDxQ5 Typography_sizeMobile12__w_FPC Typography_lineHeightMobile20___U7Vr Typography_regular__WeIG6 Typography_colourInherit__dfnUx\" data-component=\"Typography\">The dome is missing from satellite photos taken after the strike. (AP: Planet Labs PBC)<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">In a statement, Mr Parnell said the missile strike &#8220;did minimal damage to equipment and structures on the base&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">&#8220;Al Udeid Air Base remains fully operational and capable of conducting its mission, alongside our Qatari partners, to provide security and stability in the region,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">The London-based satellite news channel Iran International first reported on the damage, citing satellite photos taken by a different provider.<\/p>\n<p>Trump downplayed attack while Iran boasted about it<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">The White House had no immediate comment after Mr Parnell&#8217;s acknowledgement.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">After the attack, Iran&#8217;s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said the air base had been the &#8220;target of a destructive and powerful missile attack&#8221;.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">Iran&#8217;s Supreme National Security Council also said the base had been &#8220;smashed&#8221;, without offering any specific damage assessments.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">Potentially signalling that he knew the dome had been hit, an adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei separately said the attack disconnected the base&#8217;s communications.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">&#8220;All equipment of the base was completely destroyed and now the US command stream and connection from Al Udeid base to its other military bases have been completely cut,&#8221; Ahmad Alamolhoda, a hard-line cleric, said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">However, Mr Trump described the Iranian attack as a &#8220;very weak response&#8221;.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">He said Tehran fired 14 missiles, with 13 intercepted and one being &#8220;set free&#8221; because it was going in a &#8220;non-threatening&#8221; direction.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">&#8220;I want to thank Iran for giving us early notice, which made it possible for no lives to be lost, and nobody to be injured,&#8221; he wrote on his website Truth Social.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">Mr Trump visited Al Udeid Air Base on May 15 as part of his Middle East tour.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\"><strong>AP<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New satellite images show Iran&#8217;s attack on a US military base in Qatar in June hit a dome&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":258499,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5311],"tags":[99111,99112,2001,84479,32,774,8723,6860,49,978,659],"class_list":{"0":"post-258498","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"tag-air-base","9":"tag-al-udeid-air-base","10":"tag-communications","11":"tag-doha","12":"tag-donald-trump","13":"tag-iran","14":"tag-pentagon","15":"tag-qatar","16":"tag-united-states","17":"tag-us","18":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114839405512321197","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258498"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258498\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/258499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=258498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}