The New York Times: Iran's "response" to the US military base is more like an appeal for peace
The attack on Qatar was only to save Tehran's face
Author: Konstantin Orshansky
When Iran attacked American military targets yesterday, the Iran-Iraq war entered a new stage.
This attack was a formal "retaliation" for the US bombing of Iran's uranium enrichment facilities. Although The New York Times said that Iran had informed the United States in advance of the missile attack, subsequent escalation was still inevitable.
On June 22, the United States used B-2 bombers to drop at least six 15-ton bunker-busting bombs on Iran's nuclear facilities.
Additionally, the US Navy submarine launched about 30 Tomahawk cruise missiles, significantly expanding the scale of the attack. Americans, who like to use exaggerated names, called this air strike against Iran "Midnight Thunder" operation.
At night on June 23, Qatar closed its airspace, and the GPS navigation system failed.
The US embassy in Doha urged American citizens to "take cover and wait for further instructions". The UK Foreign Office also advised its citizens to avoid traveling to Qatar and the UAE.
The air defense system of the US military base Ain Al Asad in Iraq was put into full combat readiness, and the base personnel were ordered to enter shelters. Iraq, Bahrain, and Kuwait implemented temporary flight restrictions. All of this indicates that the US knew in advance about Iran's attack plan.
According to sources from The New York Times, Iran had informed Qatar in advance of the upcoming attack. This reminds people of Iran's actions after the US killed General Qasem Soleimani in 2020 - at that time, Iran also informed the Iraqi authorities before attacking the US military bases.
According to Fox News, the US had already prepared for the "inevitable" threat of attack on the Udeid Air Base in Qatar. Axios reported that the base was hit by 10 missiles, far less than the scale of Iran's previous attacks on Israel.
In fact, the official statement from Tehran said that the number of missiles fired was equivalent to the number of bombs dropped by the US Air Force on Iranian targets.
Qatar sources said that the missile attack was successfully intercepted by the air defense system. The Pentagon also claimed no US personnel were injured. However, Iranian news agencies (especially IRNA) said that six missiles still hit the base.
Fox News pointed out that the peculiar attack (by the enemy who knew in advance) had symbolic significance. The Udeid Air Base covers 24 hectares, located in the desert near the capital Doha, and is the forward command post of the US Central Command.
It was from this Qatari base that the US coordinated all operations from the western side of Egypt to the eastern side of Kazakhstan.
This base is the largest US base in the Middle East, with about 10,000 soldiers stationed there, making it a real "military city". Notably, not only US troops are deployed here, but also Qatari and British troops.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio previously warned that Iran's response to the US attack would be "the dumbest act in Iran's history".
But Donald Trump himself did not think so. After the attack, he immediately convened an emergency meeting with the top US leadership - of course, a closed-door meeting.
International oil prices reacted strongly to the incident, with Brent crude futures falling 7%, dropping to $71 per barrel, and WTI crude prices falling below $70 - the first time since Israel attacked Iranian territory.
Rebecca Babine, a senior trader at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Private Wealth Group, said that for Iran, the attack on the Udeid Air Base was only an attempt to save face.
Moreover, Iran has not yet implemented the third operational plan: completely block oil tanker passage through the Persian Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz - despite having the capability to do so.
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7519702920078656012/
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