Iran retaliates for U.S. air strikes, launches missile attack on American military base in Qatar | PBS News
By: PBS News
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
World Updated on Jun 23, 2025 1:17 PM EDT — Published on Jun 23, 2025 1:00 PM EDT
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran launched a missile attack Monday on a U.S. military base in Qatar, retaliating for the American bombing of its nuclear sites.
Witnesses reported seeing missiles in the skies, followed by explosions, but it wasn't clear if there was any damage.
WATCH: What we know about the U.S.' unprecedented direct attack on Iran
Iran announced on state television that it attacked American forces stationed at Qatar's Al Udeid Air Base. A caption on screen called it "a mighty and successful response" to "America's aggression" as martial music played.
The attack came shortly after Qatar closed its airspace as a precaution amid threats from Iran. Just before the explosions, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on the social platform X: "We neither initiated the war nor seeking it. But we will not leave invasion to the great Iran without answer."
In the past, Iran has threatened American forces at Al Udeid Air Base, which hosts the forward headquarters of the U.S. military's Central Command. Qatar, across the Persian Gulf from Iran, maintains diplomatic relations with Iran and shares a massive offshore natural gas field with Tehran.
Earlier in the day, Israel expanded its war against Iran to include targets associated with the country's struggling theocracy, striking the gate of a Tehran prison notorious for holding political activists and hitting the headquarters of the military force that suppressed recent protests.
As plumes of thick smoke rose over Tehran, Israel was attacked with yet another barrage of Iranian missiles and drones. The persistent fire has become a reality for civilians in both countries since Israel started the war to target Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program.
On the 11th day of the conflict, Israel said it attacked "regime targets and government repression bodies in the heart of Tehran," but Israeli officials insisted they did not seek the overthrow of Iran's government, their archenemy since the country's 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The Israeli military warned Iranians that it would continue to attack military sites around Tehran over "the coming days" as its focuses has shifted to symbolic targets as well. The military issued the warning on the social platform X, though Iranians are struggling to access the outside world as an internet shutdown has crippled the country.
The latest strikes unfolded only hours after President Donald Trump openly raised the possibility himself after just a day earlier inserting America into the war with its unprecedented stealth-bomber strike on three Iranian nuclear sites.
"If the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change???" he asked on his Truth Social website.
WATCH: Former national security adviser analyzes U.S. airstrikes on Iran
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later described Trump as "simply raising a question." However, suggestions of overthrowing the Iranian government drew new anger from Tehran, which insists it will not negotiate at this time and is threatening to retaliate directly against either American troops or interests in a Mideast already inflamed by the still-raging Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
Tehran strikes open new chapter of war
In the Tehran strikes, Israel blew open a gate at Evin prison. Iranian state television shared black-and-white surveillance footage of the strike at the facility known for holding dual nationals and Westerners often used by Iran as bargaining chips in negotiations with the West.
Evin also has specialized units for political prisoners run by the paramilitary, all-volunteer Revolutionary Guard, which answers only to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The facility is the target of both U.S. and European Union sanctions.
There were no immediate reports of casualties in Iran or significant damage, though the semiofficial Tasnim news agency said there had been a power cut reported outside of Tehran following the Israeli strikes.
Iranian state television also aired footage it described as being shot inside Evin, with prisoners under control inside the facility. However, the Washington-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran expressed worry about the condition of prisoners there.
"Many families of current detainees have expressed deep concern about the safety and condition of their loved ones held inside the prison," it said.
Earlier Monday, Iranian Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi, the chief of joint staff of armed forces, warned Washington that its strikes had given Iranian forces a "free hand " to "act against U.S. interests and its army."
Tens of thousands of American troops are based in the Middle East, many in locations within range of short-range Iranian missiles.
The Israeli military also confirmed it struck roads around Iran's Fordo enrichment facility to obstruct access to the site. The underground site was one of those hit in Sunday's attack by the United States on three nuclear facilities. The Israeli military did not elaborate.
"The Iranian dictator will be punished with full force for attacking the Israeli home front," Israel's Defense Ministry said.
According to an Israeli official familiar with the government's strategy, Israel is targeting these sites to put pressure on the Iranian administration but is not actively seeking to topple it. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal government deliberations.
Nuclear fears mount after US strikes
In Vienna, the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog said he expected there to be heavy damage at the Fordo facility following Sunday's U.S. airstrike there with sophisticated bunker-buster bombs.
With the strikes Sunday on Iranian nuclear sites, the United States inserted itself into Israel's war, prompting fears of a wider regional conflict. Iran said the U.S. had crossed "a very big red line" with its risky gambit to strike the three sites with missiles and 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs.
Several Iranian officials, including Atomic Energy Organization of Iran spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi, have claimed Iran removed nuclear material from targeted sites ahead of time.
Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told the agency's board of governors Monday that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi informed him on June 13 that Iran would "adopt special measures to protect nuclear equipment and materials."
"I indicated that any transfer of nuclear material from a safeguarded facility to another location in Iran must be declared," Grossi said, without saying whether Iran had responded.
Iran presses on attacking Israel
Iran described its Monday attack on Israel as a new wave of its "Operation True Promise 3," saying it was targeting the Israeli cities of Haifa and Tel Aviv, according to Iranian state television.
Explosions were also heard in Jerusalem, possibly from air defense systems in action, and Israel's Magen David Adom emergency rescue service said there had been no reports of injuries.
In Israel, at least 24 people have been killed and more than 1,000 wounded in the war. Israeli strikes on Iran have killed at least 950 people and wounded 3,450 others, according to the Washington-based group Human Rights Activists.
The group, which has provided detailed casualty figures from Iranian unrest such as the protests surrounding the death of Masha Amini in 2022, said of those killed, it identified 380 civilians and 253 security force personnel.
Calls for de-escalation
The U.S. described its attack on the Fordo and Natanz enrichment facilities, as well as the Isfahan nuclear site, as a one-off to take out Iran's nuclear program, but Trump has warned of additional strikes if Tehran retaliates.
Mousavi described the American attacks as violating Iran's sovereignty and being tantamount to invading the country, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.
Russia is one of Iran's closest allies and on Monday, President Vladimir Putin said after meeting in Moscow with Araghchi, the Iranian foreign minister, that they had explored "how we can get out of today's situation."
Putin called the Israeli and American attacks on Iran an "absolutely unprovoked aggression."
Iran, which insists its nuclear program is for civilian purposes only, previously agreed to limit its uranium enrichment and allow international inspectors access to its nuclear sites under a 2015 deal with the U.S., France, China, Russia, Britain and Germany in exchange for sanctions relief.
But after Trump pulled the U.S. unilaterally out of the deal during his first term, Iran began enriching uranium up to 60% — a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90% — and restricting access to its nuclear facilities.
Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writers Josef Federman in Jerusalem, Elise Morton in London, Geir Moulson in Berlin, Ella Joyner in Brussels and Stephanie Liechtenstein in Vienna contributed to this report.
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Trolling, taunting, spamming, and off topic comments may be removed at the discretion of group mods. NT members that vote up their own comments, repeat comments, or continue to disrupt the conversation risk having all of their comments deleted. Please remember to quote the person(s) to whom you are replying to preserve continuity of this seed. Any use of the phrase "Trump Derangement Syndrome" or the TDS acronym in a comment will be deleted. Any use of the term "Brandon", "Traitor Joe", or any variations thereof, when referring to President Biden, will be deleted. Right wing trolls can expect to have their irrelevant questions and comments deleted. Posting debunked lies will be subject to deletion. Use of the terms "leftist" or "lefty" will also be subject to deletion.
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WWIII is gonna start and fuck up my weekend
my kids are all freaked out ...
no worries, the great white dope will save us all ...
oh...god....
now I'm worried about my son and my son-in-law
we need to park a sub in the flight path and launch some missiles in tandem with iran's strike that takes out a few of those among our alleged allies that are sympathetic to iran. we know where bonesaw lives too, right?
there's only 2 people in my family associated with the military now. one whose location is classified, and the other whose job is classified ...
where are they at?
My son is stationed at Dover AFB, learning to turn wrenches on the C-17. It's different from the C-130's he started out on. It's a cargo aircraft so I don't think he should be in the thick of shit but one never knows
My SIL is a cyber warrior. He's with the ANG. It seems like they deploy the guard at the drop of a hat. Who knows if he will get deployed
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I should delete that, John. It irritates the crap out of me.
But you're my friend. I'll let it go
Sorry. But the fact is when you have a mentally ill person directing a wartime situation nothing they say can be taken at face value.
We know Trump is nuts, and it will have some effect on the current situation. Hopefully no American troops will suffer for it.
you can delete it if you think it is in bad taste.
it probably wouldn't belong here if it wasn't ...
Trump actually said, on his social media, "Make Iran Great Again" , while that could conceivably be benign when said by someone else, in Trumps mind it means him making money and attaining personal glory.
nah...it stays. So when I get on your nerves just go ahead and post that
do you have a photo where only his crotch is yellow? or one with a big yellow stripe down his back?
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is it faux pas or fo pos, I keep forgetting ...
Iran attacking the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar seems to be a rather muted retaliatory response. The US had withdrawn aircraft and personnel from the base before the bombing mission on nuclear sites in Iran.
Iran's missile attack seems designed to avoid escalation while making a political statement. (Maybe this is just a show of strength for the Iranian people to bolster the Iranian regime?)
Another article has been seeded with the same topic. The author claims that commenters are being censored in this article.
Yes, comments that are off-topic or trolling are deleted. That is in our Red Box Rules.
you're doing a fine job ...
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these kind of comments are why you get deleted
I should have let that taunting one for one of the real moderators to get but I figured it will still be dismissed
And nobody's fucking giddy about Iran striking back! I just don't want to be vaporized while I'm trying to get home
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Nothing wrong at all with preventing Iran from getting nuclear weapons.
Having a mentally compromised person in charge of it though adds incredibly dangerous complications.
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Jesus, Vic! You called John a coward! And then you had the gall to troll me about this seed I put up. Do you ever admit when you're wrong?
Reap what I sow? You're adding to my comment count
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So you are trying to discredit my source? PBS is highly respected in most circles. If the only criticism you have is about the source then you really have nothing.
and trmp doesn;t need my help to look bad
He doesnt need any help in that regard.
I so agree with that! I'm fine with everybody locking up their nukes and throwing the keys in the Pacific Ocean.
trmp makes me nervous. Russia is Iran's ally
I'm not getting into it with you anymore on this seed.
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It is past time trump go before Congressional leaders and explain his decision and to delineate what his future plans may entail, per established rules of conduct.
And not in two weeks or not two weeks or whenever he gets the compunction…
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The utter moron Karoline Leavitt claimed today that Donald Trump invented the phrase "peace through strength".
(11) Joe Walsh: "They lie about everything.👇" — Bluesky
in all fairness, the first guy that said it was probably dead before she was born, and a vegetable the decade before that ...
Excuse me but I believe that was Strategic Air Command's (SAC) motto
one of them . another was peace is our profession, there are others that are not family friendly .
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No, just the Air wing, Sac's official motto was: “War is our Profession Peace is our Product” it was then shortened to: “Peace is our Profession”