On Monday, Iran retaliated against the United States by launching missiles at a U.S. base in Qatar, according to a statement from the Qatari foreign ministry. The Qatari government reported that the missiles, aimed at Al-Udeid Air Base outside Doha, were intercepted by air defenses before they could hit the base.
Al-Udeid Air Base, an important American military outpost on the Persian Gulf, is home to thousands of U.S. service members. The Iranian missile attack comes after a U.S. bombing raid on Saturday struck three nuclear program sites inside Iran, after which Iranian officials had vowed to strike back. On Monday, Iran’s mission to the United Nations posted on Twitter that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “dragging the United States into yet another costly war” and that the U.S. has “recklessly chosen to sacrifice its own security merely to safeguard Netanyahu.”
This Iranian missile assault occurred after the State Department on Monday advised U.S. citizens living in Qatar to shelter in place. On Sunday, a Department of Homeland Security advisory had indicated that the “ongoing Iran conflict is causing a heightened threat environment in the United States.”
President Trump is scheduled to meet with senior national security officials at the White House on Monday. A senior White House official told TIME that “The White House and the Department of Defense are aware of, and closely monitoring, potential threats to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.”