Iran had warned Qatar before launching the missile attack against the American base of Al Udeid, at the gates of Doha. This was revealed by the New York Times, citing three Iranian officials with direct knowledge of the plans. Tehran, according to what reported, would have coordinated the operation with the Qatar authorities and communicated in advance the imminence of the launch “to minimize the victims».
The gesture, Iranian sources underline, wanted to represent An obligatory response to the recent American raid on nuclear sites in Iran, but conducted in a way “to be left to all parts a way out”.
Despite the notice, Doha’s “verbal” reaction did not expect. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar defined the attack “A flagrant violation of national sovereignty and aerial space”as well as international law and the United Nations Charter.
The official spokesperson Majed at Ansari He declared on X that “the state of Qatar reserves the right to respond directly, in proportion to the nature and within the reach of this clear aggression”, specifying that any future action will be in line with international law.
No victims in the attack. Italian military moved or in bunker
According to what reported by the CNN, the Iranian attack at the base has not caused victims or injuries, also thanks to the notice and intervention of the Qatari Contract, which would have managed to intercept part of the missiles. The explosions heard in Doha have however generated strong concern between the civilian population and the international community. The base of Al Udeid, an advanced headquarters of the US Central Command (Centcom), is the main American military hub in the region and normally houses over 10,000 soldiers. Italian sources have confirmed that ten soldiers of the Italian Air Force present at the time of the attack are safe elsewhere. In Kuwait the Italian military are repaired in bunker as a precaution while those in Qatar are safe. In addition, in Iraq, Erbil and Baghdad, there are no missile attacks due to the Iranian retaliation that may have involved the foundations where the Italian military operate. It is learned from informed sources, according to which the attacks “were within the predictions of possibilities”. For this reason, the Italians who operated in the places finished in the viewfinder “had been moved previously”.
Tension between military alliance and diplomacy
The Qatar is now in a delicate diplomatic position. On the one hand, it has been hosting US and western forces for decades on its territory, on the other it has maintained open relations with Tehran over time. The notice received by Iran and the coordination reported by the New York Times throw a new light on the dynamics of the attack: a “warned” retaliation, but not agreed, which has however violated boundaries and sovereignty. Doha now moves on a double track: that of the public conviction and the defense of its territorial integrity, and that of the crisis dialogue with all the parties involved, to avoid an even wider military escalation in the gulf. The episode further puts under pressure the geopolitical balance of the area, already shaken by the increasingly direct comparison between the United States and Iran. The Qatar, despite himself, finds himself theater and protagonist of a crisis that risks inflaming the entire region.