Traces are seen in the sky after Iran's armed forces say they targeted The Al-Udeid base in a missile attack [Source: Reuters]

Iran’s military said it carried out a missile attack on the Al Udeid U.S. airbase in Qatar on Monday after explosions were heard across the Qatari capital following Tehran’s threat to retaliate for U.S. airstrikes on its nuclear sites.

The Iranian military said the attack was “devastating and powerful” but U.S. officials said no U.S. personnel were killed or injured in the attack on the airbase, the largest U.S. military installation in the Middle East.

Iran, which had been warned by Washington not to retaliate or face massive U.S. military action, had informed the U.S. via two diplomatic channels hours ahead of the attack, as well as Qatari authorities, a senior regional source told Reuters.

Qatar’s defence minister told Al Jazeera its air defences had intercepted missiles directed at the Al Udeid air base, the largest U.S. military installation in the Middle East.

Iran had issued threats to retaliate against the United States after U.S. bombers dropped 30,000-pound bunker-busters on Iranian underground nuclear facilities at the weekend, joining Israel’s air war against Tehran, and President Donald Trump mooted the possibility of the Iranian government being toppled.

The attack came shortly after a Western diplomat told Reuters there had been a credible threat to a U.S. military base in the Gulf state following the unprecedented U.S. airstrikes on Iran’s uranium enrichment programme.

A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that Qatar, situated just across the Gulf from Iran, had shut its airspace after receiving the advance warning from Iran.

Bahrain, another U.S.-allied Gulf Arab state just to the north of Qatar, said it had also shut its airspace after the Iranian strike against the Al Udeid base.

In addition, the U.S. Ain al-Asad air base in Iraq had activated its air defence system out of concern for a potential attack, military sources said.

The main U.S. military base in Iraq’s western neighbour Syria was also on full alert for possible attack by Iran or Iran-aligned militia groups, a Syrian security source said.

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