June 23 (BBC/GNA) – Iran has launched missiles at a US airbase in Qatar in response to strikes on its nuclear sites on Saturday.

Qatar confirms the attack on the US-run Al Udeid base, calling it a “flagrant violation” and says it reserves the right to respond directly – it adds all the missiles were intercepted and there are no reports of casualties.

The country has temporarily closed its airspace and US and UK citizens have been advised to shelter in place.

In Washington, Donald Trump and defence officials are holding a Situation Room meeting, two days after the US launched massive strikes against three nuclear facilities inside Iran.

It comes as Israel it has been targeting Tehran with “unprecedented force”, including attacks on “access routes” to the Fordo nuclear site and Evin prison.

We’re just hearing from Qatar’s government, which has offered its “strong condemnation” of the attack on the al-Udeid Air Base.

Majed al-Ansari, official spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, writes on X: “We consider this a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the State of Qatar, its airspace, international law, and the United Nations charter.”

He says Qatar’s air defence systems “successfully thwarted the attack and intercepted the Iranian missiles” and the base had been evacuated earlier.

He adds: “All necessary steps were taken to ensure the safety of personnel at the base, including Qatari Armed Forces members, friendly forces, and others.

“We confirm that no injuries or human casualties resulted from the attack.”

The spokesperson says Qatar reserves the right to respond “in a manner equivalent with the nature and scale of this brazen aggression”.

UK Armed Forces Minister Luke Pollard is giving a statement in the Commons about protecting UK military bases, and started speaking just minutes after the news from Qatar broke.

“This is a fast-changing situation and we are monitoring it closely,” he tells MPs.

He says he can’t give details at this stage – but adds “the UK government utterly condemns any escalation”.

“We have put force protection measures at its highest level to safeguard our personnel in the region,” he says, continuing: “We have robust measures in place to protect our armed forces personnel and their safety is our top priority.”

GNA/Credit: BBC