Exclusive: Iranian bombers were ‘two minutes’ from striking US air base before Qatari planes shot them down
Two sources familiar with the operation revealed to CNN that Iranian bombers narrowly avoided hitting the primary military hub for US troops in the Middle East before Qatari aircraft intercepted them. The event marks the first instance of Qatari planes engaging in aerial combat, according to the sources.
On Monday morning, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard sent two Soviet-era Su-24 bombers toward al-Udeid Air Base, home to approximately 10,000 US service members, and Ras Laffan, a vital natural gas processing site that underpins Qatar’s economic foundation. One source claimed the jets were just minutes away from their objectives.
The second source confirmed the planes were visually spotted and documented with bombs and guided weapons. Qatar issued a radio warning, but the bombers did not alter course. They had descended to 80 feet to bypass radar detection, the source noted. Due to urgent circumstances and the evidence at hand, the aircraft were deemed hostile, the source added.
First aerial engagement since Khamenei’s death
Qatar’s F-15 fighters engaged the Iranian jets in a high-stakes aerial encounter before bringing them down. The bombers crashed into Qatar’s territorial waters, and a search is ongoing for the crew members. This bold move by Iran, which targeted a neighboring country for the first time since Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s assassination, highlights a shift in their strategy.
US Gen. Dan Caine, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, acknowledged the incident during a Pentagon briefing but did not disclose the bombers’ intended target. “Qatari fighters for the first time have shot down two Iranian bombers on route to their location,” he stated.
“Rather, it seeks to inflict harm on its neighbors and drag them into a war that is not theirs,”
Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani remarked during a Wednesday call with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. The incident was described as “escalatory” and signaled a lack of Iran’s commitment to deescalation, according to a summary of the conversation.
The operation over Qatar stands out as unusual. Typically, Iran’s retaliation has focused on missiles and drones. However, since the US and Israeli strikes, the Iranian regime has launched over 400 ballistic missiles and more than 1,000 drones at Gulf Arab nations, as reported by regional governments.
Iran’s attacks have targeted urban areas, energy infrastructure, airports, and hotels, unsettling populations accustomed to stability. Despite most projectiles being intercepted, six US service members lost their lives when an Iranian missile struck a temporary operations center at Kuwait’s Shuaiba port on Sunday.
