Iran Strike on US Air Base in Qatar 'Theater' Not War, Says Retired Air Force Lt. General

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Jun 232025

David Deptula, Retired Lt. General in the US Air Force, said Monday's strike on the US air base in Qatar was mainly symbolic, calling it 'theater' amid reports Iran gave Qatar a heads up about the missiles. Iran fired missiles at a US air base in Qatar after promising it would respond “proportionately and decisively” to President Donald Trump’s weekend airstrikes on three of its nuclear facilities. There were no reported casualties in the attack on Al Udeid base — the biggest such US facility in the Middle East — amid signs Iran gave advance notice of the strike plan. Qatar said the missile barrage was intercepted and the base had been evacuated in advance. Oil plunged on relief that Tehran’s limited response didn’t target energy supplies. The salvo marks another widening in the conflict that began 10 days ago when Israel attacked Iran, targeting nuclear and missile installations and military leaders. Iran has responded with several days of missile strikes on Israel, and the war threatened to escalate after the US joined the campaign with a bunker-buster bombing raid. Iran’s move “looks like a largely symbolic retaliation,” saud Ziad Daoud, Bloomberg Economics’ chief emerging-market economist. “Plenty of warning was given — Qatar shut its airspace and the US issued warnings to citizens.” Trump said the nuclear sites struck by the US were totally destroyed, and vowed to meet any Iranian retaliation with force “far greater” than those weekend strikes. He also hinted at the possibility of “regime change” in Iran, though US officials stressed that isn’t their aim. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the strikes had the “limited” objective of eliminating Iran’s atomic program. Officials have said it’s too early to definitely assess damage. There was no immediate indication of how the US will respond to Monday’s Iranian missile launch. The administration was anticipating that Iran would retaliate, and doesn’t want more military engagement in the region, CNN cited a senior White House official as saying. -------- Watch Bloomberg Radio LIVE on YouTube Weekdays 7am-6pm ET WATCH HERE: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF Follow us on X: / bloombergradio Subscribe to our Podcasts: Bloomberg Daybreak: http://bit.ly/3DWYoAN Bloomberg Surveillance: http://bit.ly/3OPtReI Bloomberg Intelligence: http://bit.ly/3YrBfOi Balance of Power: http://bit.ly/3OO8eLC Bloomberg Businessweek: http://bit.ly/3IPl60i Listen on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with the Bloomberg Business app: Apple CarPlay: https://apple.co/486mghI Android Auto: https://bit.ly/49benZy Visit our YouTube channels: Bloomberg Podcasts: / bloombergpodcasts Bloomberg Television: / @markets Bloomberg Originals: / bloomberg Quicktake: / @bloombergquicktake

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