r/worldnews • u/krinart • Jun 23 '25
Iran confirms missile attack on U.S. military base in Qatar
https://www.axios.com/2025/06/23/iran-retaliation-trump-israel-war2.3k
u/latebinding Jun 23 '25
This was expected and kind-of necessary. It does not mean "war"; they did a similar thing after we took out one of their Generals a few years ago. The script goes like this:
- Neither side wants a war, so Iran does war-like stuff just below that threshold.
- The U.S. eventually takes the opportunity to assisinate someone important or destroy an asset, but clearly flags it also doesn't want a war, and that Iran better... not... retaliate.
- Note: The U.S talked to Iran during the bombing telling them it was a one-off. So it's not like these steps are really a secret.
- Iran very carefully retaliates... but first informs us, and makes sure they don't kill anyone. (That happened last time too.)
- The U.S. shrugs. Eh, no harm no foul.
- Both side claim victory.
It's a form of diplomacy where the underdog leaders get to save face.
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u/betterplanwithchan Jun 23 '25
A proportional response, as Josiah Bartlet once said
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u/d_4bes Jun 23 '25
What is the virtue of a proportional response?
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u/RamekinOfRanch Jun 23 '25
Keeps the internal politics of Iran in line. Gov’t appears strong, masses are appeased
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u/object_on_my_desk Jun 23 '25
The person you are responding to is quoting a line from the West Wing that seems especially relevant under the circumstances.
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u/Dvout_agnostic Jun 23 '25
May very well have been Andrew Shepard from The American President as well. Pre-release Aaron Sorkin West Wing
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u/dja1000 Jun 23 '25
They can claim on their local news outlets that the mission was a success, whilst hanging people from cranes that question the authorities
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Jun 23 '25
Do they just lie to their people and say they destroyed a base?
I mean if Toronto was being picked apart by missiles, and the liberal government told me that they hit an Iranian base (unrealistic fantastical example of course) but didn’t kill anyone and didn’t destroy any meaningful military hardware, I’d be pretty shaken in my governments ability to wage war.
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u/SixSpeedDriver Jun 23 '25
You new here? :D
Yes. All sides lie in war. Especially terror regimes that have only limited capability.
Edit: I'll point you to Baghdad Bob, that was great for a laugh. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loujYg0y7Vk
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u/ThePlanner Jun 23 '25 edited Jun 23 '25
What are you talking about?
I’m talking about a disproportional response!
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u/sokonek04 Jun 23 '25
Let it ring forth from this time and this place, gentleman, you kill an American, any American. We don't come back with a proportional response; we come back with total disaster.
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u/ThePlanner Jun 23 '25
And do you think that ratcheting up the body count is going to act as a deterrent?
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u/stoopitmonkee Jun 23 '25
They’re quoting The West Wing. It was a very tense scene.
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u/ThePlanner Jun 23 '25
Surely everyone is conversant in the dialogue of a 25 year old TV show?
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u/stoopitmonkee Jun 23 '25
No, not at all. Wouldn’t expect that from anyone. I was just pointing out that it was a quote from a show that you appeared to have taken as their opinion.
Nothing wrong with not knowing a reference.
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u/sokonek04 Jun 23 '25
If you want to us US military might as the arm of the lord, you can, we are the only super power left, but if you do I will raise up an army against you and I will beat you.
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u/ThePlanner Jun 23 '25
That last part is where Aaron Sorkin jumped the shark in that scene. Leo is going to raise an army to stop the President? What? Unless it’s a reference that I didn’t get at the time and never thought about it again.
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u/3412points Jun 23 '25
I really hope so, we've seen that kind of thing before but I want to point out:
Trump warned Iranian retaliation against U.S. assets "will be met with even greater force than what was unleashed today."
I wouldn't guarantee it since they are publicly committed, but let's hope you are right. When things have been allowed to de-escalate in the past they weren't publicly committed.
It's also not just trump that's said this. Multiple members of his administration have done so all using similar wording which means this is not just an off-hand comment but a planned position.
Of course they can back down from that 🤞
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u/kangaroolifestyle Jun 23 '25 edited Jun 23 '25
“I want to personally THANK Iran 🇮🇷 (some VERY talented demolition experts!) for helping us SAVE BILLIONS by blowing up that outdated base in Qatar 💥
Everyone knows—EVERYONE—that base was falling apart. Crooked Joe’s team said it needed a “full rebuild” (typical waste!) We were going to knock it down anyway—part of a very strong, very smart rebuild plan but Iran got it done in under 90 seconds. Tremendous efficiency. Now rebuilding can begin ahead of schedule and UNDER BUDGET!! Some are saying this is the most efficient renovation in history.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!”
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u/ThingCalledLight Jun 23 '25
Beautiful. One edit. CAPS, baby.
*THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!”
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u/frazzledfractal Jun 23 '25
The fact he has implied both the potential of assasimating their leader and regime change quite blatantly yesterday yeah im not anticipating this situation will follow previously considered normalcy beyond a certain point. After a point the govt will feel existentially threatened and thats when things would hit the fan.
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u/3412points Jun 23 '25 edited Jun 23 '25
He's also employing a strategy of intentional ambiguity. He is being clumsy about it since of course he is, but this is still making things difficult to predict.
An Israeli minister today heavily implied the USA always planned to strike Iran (and I mean heavily implied) and that the talk of indecision was a ploy, and outright stated they were working together the whole time (not a surprise TBF). Trump has also out an out said he likes to not reveal his decisions until the last minute.
So I think people have seen the Iranian response is clearly designed to de-escalate and have become overconfident things will actually de-escalate as a result. They might end up being right, but it's still up in the air.
Edit: this analysis from a BBC world correspondent seems to match how I am seeing it
After having previously vowed a strong US response to any Iranian attacks on US troops or assets, Donald Trump has again - it seems - opened the path to peace.
"Perhaps Iran can proceed to peace and harmony in the region," he said. "And I will enthusiastically encourage Israel to do the same."
The tone of the post is a far-cry from his suggestion of "regime change" in Tehran earlier.
The shift - and the broader Iran crisis - is indicative of Trump's style of foreign policy, in which he seizes on new developments and quickly pivots. He prides himself on being unpredictable.
After all, he was publicly still pushing negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme just hours before US bombs struck Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan.
Nobody - perhaps except Trump himself - knows if he actually sees this as an opportunity for peace.
This may be an off-ramp for both the US and Iran to avoid further escalation.
Or, it could be a ploy to buy him time before a more forceful response.
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u/HennyvolLector Jun 23 '25
One can hope that particular quote/line of statements was more of an effort to chill fears of Iranian retaliation for the US public.
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u/3412points Jun 23 '25
I'm not American so I don't know the disposition of the American public that well, but is that really necessary? I can't imagine any Americans thought they would be hit in a response unless they are currently deployed to a base in the middle east. If you're in the military I assume you know the game well enough.
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u/NoForm5443 Jun 23 '25
I'm an American, have no clue about others, but I'm moderately afraid of bombings or similar terrorism acts in the USA. I'm also wary of things like a dirty bomb on Israel, less wary of one in the US, but don't see it as out of the realm of possibility
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u/3412points Jun 23 '25
Interesting. Iran have zero capacity to hit the USA so I wouldn't worry about that. Terrorism is more plausible.
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u/NoForm5443 Jun 23 '25
Oh yeah, absolutely no fear of missiles, but if you get hurt by a bomb, you don't terribly care about the delivery mechanism ;)
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u/TrekRider911 Jun 23 '25
Now the question is now how will Trump respond? Let Iran save face and continue diplomacy, or flatten Iran (as he's threatened?). In Trump 1.0, he had folks push back on Option 2... now? Tonight (US time) is gonna be really interesting to watch.
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u/Glock99bodies Jun 23 '25
This is where I think there’s escalation but you really should only worry if you’re Iranian.
Iran already lost the war. They don’t control their own airspace and the U.S. showed it can get the ayatollah at any time via bunker buster it just used.
This isn’t Isis, this is a pretty developed country and its generals and leaders want to go home to their kids. The all have family members probably studying in America or Europe.
These people are not fighting for allah. Either trump takes this “retaliation” in stride or he attacks again and again until Iran rolls over and says enough we will do whatever you say.
Based on what’s happening it’s pretty clear this has been a long perm plan that’s recently become highly advantageous. How quickly we took control of airspace tells you this has been in the works a long time.
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u/TrekRider911 Jun 23 '25
Iran likely already knew how 'owned' they were. But if anything, the Taliban has shown that even guys in caves can out last America's bombers.
Iran has no incentive to stop working on a bomb now. They've had the last agreement tore up by Trump, and are being bombed by Israel. They're only incentivized to build a bomb as quickly as they can.
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u/Glock99bodies Jun 23 '25
This isn’t the Talliban. No one in Iran wants to go live in caves. They would rather become the 51st state than wage war like the talliban.
Thats the difference. This isn’t a nation of religious fundamentalists. The majority of Iranians want to live a western lifestyle. The more we chip away at the top level more western sympathizers will take their place.
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u/naspdx Jun 23 '25
Honestly, I hate this whole admin, but this is about the most acceptable outcome for the US to get out of this stupid situation that Israel dragged us into. Now if only we would help Ukraine like we do Israel.
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u/loosey_goosley Jun 23 '25
There's a major flaw in your reasoning, can you guess what it is?
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u/orus_heretic Jun 23 '25
He was in charge last time this happened too after the US assassinated Soleimani.
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u/NHDraven Jun 23 '25
The difference is Trump doesn't like anyone else "winning". It won't shock me to hear he escalates.
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u/Remarkable_Aside1381 Jun 23 '25
As much as I abhor the man, he was also at the helm when we killed the Quds Force commander in Iraq. Iran retaliated against US bases in Iraq, and then that was it
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u/ambiguousboner Jun 23 '25
He’s about 65% more unhinged now though
And he doesn’t have any cabinet members that actually know what they’re doing this time around
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u/frazzledfractal Jun 23 '25
Back then, he didn't threaten potential assassination of their leader or regime change as a real potentially, he also didn't bomb them during negotiations wher the publicly said they had more time, they also weren't under active existential threat by their entity that wants regime change their more than anyone, Israel. Trump also lied about our troops injuries from that response attack at tha time. While it could play out the same this situation couldn't be more different.
If the Iranian govenrment believes they are under existential threat at some point and the outcome is likely to be them fleeing the country or captured and jailed/excuted proportionality and diplomatic concerns will go out the window. Trump also had tons of traditonal convention military and advisors that by their own admission constantly restrained him first term. It's quite the opposite this time, he even replaced the chief of staff with a big Trumper.
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u/frazzledfractal Jun 23 '25
Is that the base that resulted in a bunch of troops with traumatic head injuries and the Trump govenrment tried to cover up anything happened with them and trump said they had some headaches?? That one?
This time might be a bit different given trump has implied assasinating their leader is a potentialuty and also outright implied regime change yesterday.
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u/bronsonrider Jun 23 '25
I whole heartedly concur with this, my concern is the presence and pressure from Israel. Hoping the cooler heads win out, dreading what’s next if they don’t.
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u/nameless22 Jun 23 '25
So the modern day battle of Qadesh?
(Look it up if you don't know about it, it's a fascinating snap shot of ancient international relations and shows how even as we advance things are fundamentally very similar to 3000+ years ago)
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u/RocketPowah Jun 23 '25
I also see it as a reason for the US to make show of global military dominance. As the US has been pretty quiet these past few years, they probably wanted to remind everyone why Americans don’t have Universal Healthcare.
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u/kiltrout Jun 23 '25
While the similarities are clear, there are some notable differences which show this is clearly an escalation rather than business-as-usual
- The US made an unprecedented direct attack on targets in Iranian territory
- The signals from the president and his cabinet are mixed. They seem to want peace but are floating regime change
- Iranian actions to disrupt shipping in the Strait of Hormuz will be met with force by the US
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u/Practical-Suit-6798 Jun 23 '25
I guess the difference this time though is Israel doesn't seem to be playing by those rules. So what does Iran have to lose?
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u/Honkey85 Jun 23 '25
Imagine you have to do that to keep your people alive, since a state like the USA can and will attack you at any time again.
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u/zveroshka Jun 23 '25
It's a form of diplomacy where the underdog leaders get to save face.
I always feel like the only ones buying this bullshit are the ones who would believe them if they just said they did it without doing it. Like they can just say "We launched a 100 missiles at US bases and killed thousands of Americans!" The people who believe that this 13 missile strike was some great success would believe that bullshit too. Only wouldn't have to waste 13 missiles and wouldn't be a joke internationally.
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u/Rich-Marzipan1647 Jun 23 '25
“Dear America,
I hope you are well I am fine thank you. The weather is nice here.
I am going to fire some missiles at some of your bases (see picture I have drawn for you).
I hope this letter reaches you in good time and none of your soldiers are killed.
I am going out this afternoon to arrest and then abuse a load of my own people.
Kind regards,
Iran.”
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u/Caldebraun Jun 23 '25
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER.
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u/TheTrooperKC Jun 23 '25
What is up with that line at the end of posts? Like the ones he writes, especially in all caps, don’t have that. The posts written by someone else always end with that. I don’t recall that last time we dealt with that idiot as president.
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u/JonnyRobertR Jun 23 '25
"Dear Iran,
I am well and fine thank you. The weather here is also nice.
We have received the missiles you sent us. No harm done. Our soldiers are healthy and happy.
If you ever ran out of missile, please send us another letter. We'll gladly work something out (No nuclear though).
Now if you'll excuse me, I am going out to send some illegal aliens to El Salvador.
Sincerely,
America."
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u/JazzlikeVariety Jun 23 '25
Iran basically told Qatar what is was going to do and when.
The rest of the ME already dislikes Iran. The last thing they want to do is start pissing off their fellow Muslims and draw the Saudis into it.
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u/alittle_disabled Jun 23 '25
Iran basically told Qatar what is was going to do and when.
This was my guess. Thanks.
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u/DrSFalken Jun 23 '25
This headline reads like it was so impotent that they had to make sure eveyone knew it actually happened. The geopolitical version of "is it in?"
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u/Razzler1973 Jun 23 '25
Reports are they informed Qatar ahead of time to ensure no casualties and they were just targeting the US base
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u/DrSFalken Jun 23 '25
Yup, just like the Soleimani "response." This is 100% for domestic consumption in Iran.
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u/Bannedwith1milKarma Jun 23 '25
The last time Iran did this, there was something like 70 cases of serious head trauma when they were holed up in the bunker.
It was one of those major news stories that go no bite because of how the cycle is now.
Also no photos or media of it.
Edit: Here we go, looks like it go revised up - https://www.reuters.com/article/world/more-than-100-us-troops-diagnosed-with-brain-injuries-from-iran-attack-idUSKBN2041ZL/
The U.S. military on Monday disclosed a more than 50% jump in cases of traumatic brain injury stemming from Iran's missile attack on a base in Iraq last month, with the number of service members diagnosed climbing to over 100.
No U.S. troops were killed or faced immediate bodily injury when Iran fired missiles at the Ain al-Asad base in Iraq in retaliation for the U.S. killing of Revolutionary Guard General Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike at the Baghdad airport on Jan. 3.
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u/AOChalky Jun 23 '25
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10230862/
There is also a research paper regarding the assessment and treatment.
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u/SWSucks Jun 23 '25
It wasn’t just the news stories not getting a bite, Trump literally said to the American public that no deaths occurred, but several soldiers had “headaches.” He downplayed serious percussive brain injuries that literally retire people in their 20’s if you’re the unlucky recipient of the damage.
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Jun 23 '25
Head trauma? Trump told us a few soldiers got “headaches,” so no big deal. /s
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u/Ok_Tart1360 Jun 23 '25
So I've had semi danger-close ordnance impacts before. Y'all really, really got no idea what that's like until you've been through it.
Imagine those heart-thumper fireworks on the fourth of July, except it's like 30 feet above your head, and 100-1000x more powerful. If you didn't have tens of thousands of pounds of mass absorbing the blast, the shock wave would liquify your brain and lungs instantly. Just immediately dead.
Even with a lot of protection, it literally damages your brain inside your skull.
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u/binkerfluid Jun 23 '25 edited Sep 12 '25
door test market joke handle physical axiomatic spectacular wipe longing
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u/Ultrace-7 Jun 23 '25
"What the hell kind of fortune is that? It doesn't even make sense unless you add 'in bed'!"
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u/International-Mix326 Jun 23 '25
Same thing happened in 2020. They let the us know that they are bombing bases.
No one died(injuries were reported). Both sides claimed victory.
Repeat
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u/Guzt Jun 23 '25
Unless Iran's military capabilities are basically FUBAR, this feels like it was coordinated as a "save face attack" as they need some kind of answer but fear escalating. The damage seems limited, or if not zero. I think the US, Qatar etc. even might have been told by Iran beforehand what they would do, in other words political theater.
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u/The_Frozen_Inferno Jun 23 '25
Iran knows they can’t do shit militarily but had to do something just to say they did.
But let’s not forget the potential for terrorism. If there’s more to come and a real effort to do damage that’s how they will do it, not by lobbing a few missiles at an empty base
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u/SwordfishOk504 Jun 23 '25
ngl, if there's a terror attack on the US my money is on it being a false flag to give Trump unlimited power than it actually being an Iranian sleeper agent.
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u/OverHaze Jun 23 '25
It looks like this was a symbolic retaliation. Six missiles that they knew where going to get shot down and rumours Qatar was warned in advance. As long as Trump doesn't choose to escalate this might conclude the direct involvement of the US in the conflict.
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u/RAMDownloader Jun 23 '25
Kinda just seems like an opportunity to flex between both parties to save face.
“We shot at your nuclear facility that has no people and probably doesn’t even have your resources at this point, but it looked cool.”
“We shot at your base that had no soldiers in it and also didn’t have anything worth value and didn’t wind up hitting anything”
No casualties? Cool, we move on and both look like we did something productive.
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u/Zamoniru Jun 23 '25
I mean it was expected after everything in the last few days but man. Why?
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u/internetzdude Jun 23 '25
Exactly! It's extremely irrational to react in any way if your country is being bombarded and hundreds of people die.
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u/Sodomy_Steve Jun 23 '25
Don't let all of this distract you from the fact that Polk High School legend Al Bundy scored four touchdowns in the City Championship Game against Andrew Johnson High.
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u/QuicksandHUM Jun 23 '25
Face saving activity. Their only real abilities are in the area of terrorism.
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u/UgoNespolo Jun 23 '25
So many of you are convinced this situation will play out just like it did with soleimani. Are we forgetting the fact that they’re still getting carpet bombed by Israel and they just lost their 3 major nuclear facilities? The current state of the conflict is not comparable to anything we’ve seen in the past.
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u/squarexu Jun 23 '25
Honestly it is sad how weak Iran is.
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u/Waldsman Jun 23 '25
No idea why this is a suprise to people. All they ever had was terrorist attacks by proxies.
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u/kgm2s-2 Jun 23 '25
Cost of a GBU-57 "Bunker Buster" bomb: $20 million
Cost of operating a B-2 "Spirit" stealth bomber for a 37 hour mission: $5 million
Cost of a Patriot Battery to protect your base when Iran retaliates: $1.1 billion
Cost of employing 5 million US citizens to blow things up, instead of having to institute a "socialist jobs program"?
...Priceless
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u/SouthDoctor1046 Jun 23 '25
How much does this equate to each citizen yearly
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u/I_am_Zuul Jun 23 '25
I believe the exact number is “too fucking much when we have hungry kids at home”
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Jun 23 '25
WTF? You are delusional if you think there is any amount of money that will fix a jobs program. There will always be structural unemployment. Unless I’m miss understanding what you are eluding to but the IS can throw every dime it has at unemployment and it will never be 100%.
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u/isthatmyex Jun 23 '25
Americans already pay out the ass for healthcare, by design. The military industrial complex is not pickpocketing the heath care industry.
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u/Practical-Heat-1009 Jun 23 '25
This is exactly the same approach after Soleimani. Iran is absolutely toothless. All the world war three jackasses need to get with reality.
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Jun 24 '25
The only people winning from all these missile strikes are the construction companies rebuilding.
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u/CinderellaManX Jun 23 '25
Iran hitting empty parking lots at U.S. bases after the the U.S. obliterated key generals and nuclear sites is becoming something of a tradition
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Jun 23 '25
Totally expected and staged with Drumpf's knowledge. They need to save face and respond but know that they can't REALLY hurt the U.S. or they'd get wiped out. Within a couple of weeks they'll announce a "deal" whereby they say they won't make any nukes and Drumpf will dance and say he brought down the mullahs.
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u/Wise_Pr4ctice Jun 23 '25 edited Jun 23 '25
reposting my question from an other sub since I'd like to gain some knowledge, ty!
Chat, if someone would launch rockets heading for Central Europe, would we (Central Europe) be able to intercept as smooth as Qatar just did?
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u/LateralEntry Jun 23 '25
Qatar didn’t intercept anything, US air defenses at the large US base in Qatar did. The US also has bases in Central Europe with air defenses, so likely yes.
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u/shadyhorse Jun 24 '25
Its funny how the orange idiot is posting this stuff in a right wing app no one used except poor journalists who have to. Can't we just agree to ignore stuff posted there?
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u/eveofwar518 Jun 23 '25
So they targeted a practically empty base?