U.S. Admits Iranian Missile Hit Qatar Air Base During Attack

The Pentagon has confirmed that an Iranian ballistic missile hit Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar in June, causing minimal damage to equipment and structures. The base remains fully operational, despite satellite images showing damage to a geodesic dome and a nearby building. The attack occurred during an Iranian assault after President Donald Trump downplayed the assault.

The Pentagon has confirmed that an Iranian ballistic missile hit Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar in June, causing minimal damage to equipment and structures. The base remains fully operational, despite satellite images showing damage to a geodesic dome and a nearby building. The attack occurred during an Iranian assault after President Donald Trump downplayed the assault.

The Pentagon spokesman, Sean Parnell, stated that the strike "did minimal damage to equipment and structures on the base." He added that Al Udeid Air Base remains fully operational and capable of conducting its mission, alongside Qatari partners, to provide security and stability in the region.

Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC show the geodesic dome visible at the Al Udeid Air Base on the morning of June 23, just hours before the attack. The U.S. Air Force's 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, which operates out of the base, announced in 2016 the installation of the $15 million piece of equipment, known as a modernized enterprise terminal. Images taken on June 25 and every day subsequently show the dome is gone, with some damage visible on a nearby building. The rest of the base appears largely untouched.

The attack came as a response to the American bombing of three nuclear sites in Iran and provided the Islamic Republic a way to retaliate quickly, leading to a ceasefire brokered by President Donald Trump ending the 12-day Iran-Israel war. Trump described the Iranian attack as a "very weak response" and stated that Iran fired 14 missiles, with 13 intercepted and one being "set free" as it was going in a "nonthreatening" direction.

The London-based satellite news channel Iran International first reported on the damage, citing satellite photos taken by a different provider. After the attack, Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard insisted that the air base had been the "target of a destructive and powerful missile attack," while Iran's Supreme National Security Council claimed the base had been "smashed," without offering specific damage assessments.

The attack did not tip over into the regional war long feared by analysts, as American and Qatari air defense were ready for the assault, which briefly disrupted air travel in the Middle East. The geodesic dome, which housed equipment used by the Americans for secure communications, was likely hit by a bomb-carrying drone, given the limited visible damage to surrounding structures.

References:
[1] https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/PLANET-LABS-PBC-130483707/news/The-Pentagon-acknowledges-an-Iranian-ballistic-missile-hit-a-Qatar-air-base-during-Iran-s-attack-50493211/
[2] https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/iran-qatar-air-base/2025/07/11/id/1218392/
[3] https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/pentagon-acknowledges-iranian-ballistic-missile-hit-qatar-air-base-during-irans-attack/article69802327.ece