'Symbolically needed to strike back': Iran coordinated attacks on American air base with Qatar, claims report

After Iran launched an attack on the American air base in Qatar in what seemed to be a major escalation after US dropped bombs on Iran's three nuclear plants, a New York Times report said that Iran coordinated the attacks with Qatari officials and gave advanced notice that the attacks were coming to minimise casualties.

"The officials said Irn symbolically needed to strike back at the US but at the same time carry it out in a way that allowed all sides an exit ramp," the NYT report said. "They described it as a similar strategy to 2020 when Iran gave Iraq head up before firing ballistic missiles an American base in Iraq following the assassination of its top general," the report said.

White House official says they were anticipating retaliation

A senior White House official told CNN that the administration was anticipating retaliation.

“We knew they’d retaliate. They had a similar response after Soleimani,” the official said, referring to Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian commander killed in a US airstrike in 2020.The official said initial assessments were that the missiles fired by the Iranians on Monday didn’t hit their intended targets. Qatar’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses intercepted an Iranian missile attack on the US air base in the country.

Iran State TV reported that Iran began an operation against the US-run Al Udeid Air base in Qatar. A series of loud booms were heard in Doha, and some objects were seen falling to the earth.Iran said the attack in Qatar matched the number of bombs dropped by the United States on its nuclear sites over the weekend, signaling its likely desire to de-escalate. Iran also said it targeted the base because it was outside of populated areas.The Ain al-Assad base housing US troops in western Iraq was also targeted, an Iraqi security official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. But Iran did not claim credit for that attack, which could have been carried out by militias. It was not immediately clear if there was damage to the Iraq base or any injuries.Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said the attack by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards was “a flagrant violation of Qatar’s sovereignty, its airspace, and international law.” Al Udeid is also home to the Combined Air Operations Center, which provides command and control of air power across the region as well as the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, the largest expeditionary wing in the world.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.”