Iran launched an attack on Monday against Al Udeid Air Base, the largest American military installation in the Middle East, a day after the United States bombed several nuclear sites in Iran.
A spokesman for Iran’s Armed Forces said the attacks on the American base in Qatar were carried out by the Revolutionary Guards Corps. “We warn our enemies that the era of hit and run is over,” said the spokesman.
Qatar said its air defenses intercepted the Iranian missiles. Air raid sirens were also heard in Bahrain, a Gulf State very close to Qatar that hosts the U.S. Fifth Fleet. The United Arab Emirates, a major transportation hub, closed its airspace.
Earlier on Monday, Israel attacked a paramilitary headquarters and a notorious prison in Tehran, as well as access routes to the Fordo nuclear enrichment site that the U.S. military bombarded on Sunday.
World leaders called for de-escalation, even as President Trump’s decision to join Israel’s campaign raised fears that the war would widen.
Though Mr. Trump declared that Iran’s nuclear program had been “totally obliterated” by the U.S. bombings, the actual state of the program seemed far more murky.
The U.S. attacks came more than a week after Israel launched attacks on Iran. Israel had been carrying out waves of airstrikes targeting Iran’s military sites, nuclear facilities and energy infrastructure, in what it said is an effort to stop it from developing a nuclear bomb, though Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful.
How did the United States attack Iran?
A U.S. official said that six B-2 bombers dropped 12 bunker-buster bombs on Fordo, a deeply buried nuclear enrichment site. Navy submarines fired 30 cruise missiles at Natanz and Isfahan, which are also part of Iran’s nuclear program. One B-2 bomber also dropped two bunker-buster bombs on Natanz, the official said.
The stealth bombers that struck the Iranian nuclear sites had flown nonstop for about 37 hours round-trip from their base in Missouri in a tightly choreographed operation, refueling several times midair.
Ahead of the attacks, Mr. Trump’s blustery statements on social media raised alarms at the Pentagon, where military planners began to worry that he was giving Iran too much warning about an impending strike.
Defense officials built their own political and military misdirection into the attack plan: a second group of B-2 bombers that would leave Missouri and head west over the Pacific Ocean in a way that flight trackers would be able to monitor on Saturday. That left a misimpression, for many observers and presumably Iran, about the timing and path of the attack, which would come from another direction entirely.
How did Iran respond?
Iran’s Armed Forces said in a statement that Iran had targeted the Al Udeid base in Qatar “with destructive and forceful missiles.” The outcome of the strikes is not yet clear.
Iran coordinated the attacks on the American air base in Qatar with Qatari officials and gave advanced notice that attacks were coming to minimize casualties, according to three Iranian officials familiar with the plans.
The officials said Iran symbolically needed to strike back at the United States but at the same time carry it out in a way that allowed all sides an exit ramp; they described it as a similar strategy to 2020 when Iran gave Iraq advance warning before firing ballistic missiles at an American base in Iraq, following the assassination of Qassim Suleimani, its top general.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said this weekend that U.S. bases in the Middle East were not a point of strength, but rather a vulnerability.
More than 40,000 American active-duty troops and civilians are on bases in the Middle East, including in Iraq, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait.
What’s the status of Iran’s nuclear program?
After the U.S. strikes on Iran, President Trump declared that Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities were “completely and totally obliterated.” But the U.S. and Israeli military officials have been more cautious.
A senior U.S. official said that the American strike had severely damaged the Fordo site, but that even 12 bunker-busting bombs could not destroy it.
Satellite photographs of the primary target, the Fordo uranium enrichment plant that Iran built under a mountain, showed several holes where a dozen 30,000-pound bombs punched deep into the rock.
There was also evidence, according to two Israeli officials with knowledge of the intelligence, that Iran had moved material away from the sites before they were attacked, including 400 kilograms, or roughly 880 pounds, of enriched uranium. Senior U.S. officials conceded they did not know the fate of Iran’s stockpile of near-bomb-grade uranium.
This month, Iran also claimed that it had another enrichment site “in a secure and invulnerable location.” Experts think the new site is likely south of Natanz, under Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La, a mountain nearly a mile above sea level. That means it could be buried nearly twice as deep as the Fordo site.
Aside from nuclear sites, bombs alone cannot erase the knowledge that Iranians have accumulated over nearly seven decades, since 1957, when Iran first signed a civil nuclear cooperation agreement with the Eisenhower administration. The nuclear program is deeply embedded in Iran’s history, culture, sense of security and national identity.
What is the Strait of Hormuz?
Iran retains the naval assets and other capabilities it would need to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow 90-mile waterway connecting the Persian Gulf to the open ocean.
The strait is a key shipping route, with a quarter of the world’s oil and 20 percent of liquefied natural gas passing through it. Any attempts by Iran to mine or blockade the strait would cause energy prices to soar, affecting the entire global economy.
Iran has mined the Strait of Hormuz before, including in 1988 during its war with Iraq, when Iran planted 150 mines in the strait. One of the mines struck an American guided missile frigate, the U.S.S. Samuel B. Roberts, nearly sinking it.
But placing explosive mines in the Strait of Hormuz would be seen as a major escalation, potentially inviting a broader U.S. military response.
“Mining also hurts Iran; they would lose income from oil they sell to China,” said Vice Adm. Kevin M. Donegan, a former commander of U.S. naval forces in the Middle East. “Now though, Iranian leadership is much more concerned with regime survival, which will drive their decisions.”
Is the U.S. seeking regime change in Iran?
The U.S. strikes on Sunday stoked fears of a dangerously escalating conflict across the Middle East and urgent calls from world leaders for diplomacy. Officials in the Trump administration emphasized that the United States did not want an all-out war with Tehran.
But then Mr. Trump suggested on social media that a change in Iran’s government was not unthinkable.
“If the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change???” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social.
What’s the latest in Iran?
Israel’s military on Monday struck entrances to Iran’s Evin prison, a notorious detention facility in Tehran where dissidents and political prisoners are held. The detention center has long been regarded as a symbol of repression, and human rights groups and survivors say that torture and executions are routine there.
Video footage verified by The New York Times shows an explosion at the main entrance to the prison compound and damage after a blast near a second entrance. The strikes on the Evin prison caused particular concern in France because two French citizens, Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, are detained there. Israel did not publicly say why it had targeted the facility.
Israel also targeted the headquarters of the Basij, a volunteer force under the umbrella of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps that has used brutal tactics to crack down on protests in Iran, and it hit access routes to Fordo, the heavily fortified nuclear-enrichment site
Civilians have borne the brunt of Israeli attacks, as Israeli missiles hit some apartment buildings and residential complexes. Iran’s health ministry said on Saturday that more than 400 Iranians, including 54 women and children, had been killed since Israel began its attacks, and at least 3,000 others had been wounded.
What’s the latest in Israel?
On Sunday morning, Iran launched a barrage of missiles at Israel, prompting air-raid sirens to ring out in northern and central Israel. Israel’s emergency service reported that at least 10 people were wounded in the latest attack.
The Israeli military has ordered schools and most workplaces to remain closed for the immediate future as the country braces for further Iranian retaliation.
Israel’s sophisticated and multilayered air defense system has intercepted most incoming Iranian ballistic missiles. But as the war continues, Israel is firing interceptors faster than it can produce them.
Israelis have broadly backed Mr. Netanyahu’s decision to open the offensive against Iran. Even longtime critics of the prime minister — including Yair Lapid, head of Israel’s parliamentary opposition — have praised what they see as the war’s tactical successes.
But as Iran launches missiles in response, the conflict has also paralyzed much of Israel, shuttering schools, businesses and the international airport near Tel Aviv, leaving thousands of Israelis stranded abroad. The economic damage has compounded the cost of more than 20 months of war in Gaza and Lebanon.
Reported by Farnaz Fassihi, Patrick Kingsley, Aaron Boxerman, David E. Sanger, Helene Cooper, Eric Schmitt, Francesca Regalado, Samuel Granados, Steven Erlanger, Bora Erden, Marco Hernandez, Karen Yourish Maggie Haberman and Alexandra E. Petri.
Farnaz Fassihi is the United Nations bureau chief for The Times, leading coverage of the organization. She also covers Iran and has written about conflict in the Middle East for 15 years.
David E. Sanger covers the Trump administration and a range of national security issues. He has been a Times journalist for more than four decades and has written four books on foreign policy and national security challenges.
Aaron Boxerman is a Times reporter covering Israel and Gaza. He is based in Jerusalem.
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