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CNN International: Missiles Fired from Iran Toward U.S. Base is Qatar; Iran Fired 10 Missiles Towards Qatar; U.S.-Iran Conflict Escalates. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired June 23, 2025 - 14:29   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[14:29:00]

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR, CONNECT THE WORLD: And we begin with a dangerous new escalation in the Middle East. Iran says it launched a powerful and destructive missile attack on a U.S. military base in Qatar. Qatar's defense ministry said its air defenses, quote, "successfully intercepted an attack," targeted the Al Udeid Airbase, and there were no deaths and injuries.

That base located southwest of Doha is the major hub for the U.S. military in the region.

A source says Iranian officials gave Qatar advanced notice about a pending attack. Well, all this after Iran vowed that the U.S. will "directly pay," and I quote there, for those weekend strikes on three of its nuclear facilities. Iran says the number of missiles used matches the number of bombs fired on its nuclear sites. A senior White House official says the Trump administration was anticipating a retaliation and that the president does not want more military engagement in the region.

Well, CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is standing by in London. He is our chief security editor. First, let's get you to Kylie Atwood, who is in Washington. Kylie.

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So, what we're learning now is that as these strikes occurred in Qatar, Qataris are saying that they were successfully intercepted. That these Iranian missiles that were targeting the U.S. base there had been intercepted. And this comes just as it was clear earlier this morning that U.S. officials were expecting the possibility of Iranian strikes against U.S. facilities in Qatar because the U.S. embassy there put out alerts to all Americans to tell them to effectively go inside, to take shelter. And it was just in the last hour or so that the U.S. embassy in Qatar went to a shelter in place position.

We also know that the U.S. embassy in Bahrain also went into that position. So, we're watching to see if anything happens there. But as this is all unfolding what we're trying to figure out is, of course, the extent of this Iranian strike back, this retaliatory strike, after the United States targeted three of Iran's nuclear facilities just over the weekend. Obviously, U.S. officials knew that there would be retaliation, but what we're watching right now is that there was some clear indications given to the United States from the Iranians through the Qatari, we're told by sources, that these strikes were forthcoming. So, the United States had a heads up, which indicates that the Iranians were not necessarily looking to escalate this situation, to retaliate surely, but not necessarily to escalate. But obviously. this is all unfolding before our eyes. And so, we need to learn what the extent of this operation actually looks like. Becky.

ANDERSON: Nick, let me bring you in. What do we know about what happened in this missile strike?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean, we are looking at something which is vaguely familiar from those of us who saw Iran's retaliation in 2024 for the assassination in Tehran over Hamas leader and indeed for their retaliation in 2020 for the killing of their preeminent military figure, Qasem Soleimani, by the Trump administration.

Then what we know at this point, and it continues to evolve, is that Iran says the same number of missiles that were fired at its nuclear facilities by the United States were fired at a military base in Qatar. They don't talk about any other target in the statement from the National Security Council Secretariat that our team in Tehran have obtained, just Qatar's Al Udeid base, the headquarters for Central Command, the U.S. Aviation command that runs all of its activities in Syria, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and frankly, the busiest place they have.

Now, Qatar says through its foreign ministry, that they have successfully intercepted all of those missiles and there were no deaths or injuries. And indeed, the Iranian statement goes on to stress that they meant no sense of aggression towards Qatar at all.

This was not just telegraphed, Becky, it was something that frankly was being discussed as a potential on cable news prior to it occurring. You know, on CNN I was talking about this with Barak Ravid moments before it occurred. So, it was telegraphed by an alert from the U.S. embassy to American citizens in hours earlier on today, just saying shelter in place.

Qatar then closed its airspace to commercial and other traffic as well. Another suggestion this indeed was coming. And now, of course, we know also from sources familiar with the matter that Qatar indeed was warned.

So, look, clearly here, Iran trying to show fireworks over the skies of Doha. But most importantly, Becky, aiming at a hugely important symbolic base for the United States, but one whose aircraft and personnel have been removed days ago because of this very threat. Is this Iran drawing a line under the situation? Quite likely.

ANDERSON: Kylie, let me bring you back in. In addition to the video of the interceptions that we've been showing, we've also obtained some video of panic at a mall in Doha. There is clearly a real sense of urgency. Qatar is a country which has very good relations with the United States. It's a key ally of the United States. He has a defense treaty with the United States. Donald Trump was there just recently at that Al-Udeid base during his swing around this region.

[14:35:00]

So, I wonder at this point, what is the communication, as we understand it, between the U.S. and Qatar at this point? Certainly, the U.S. president has said he wants to see no further military action in the region. So, what's the state of play here and how might this impact, if at all, relations between Washington and a key U.S. ally?

ATWOOD: Well, as you say, the U.S.-Qatar alliance is strong and it has only grown stronger over the last five years or so, particularly after you saw the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Qatar was critical to helping the United States do that.

But this is a country that not only is close to the United States when it comes to its military presence there, the U.S. military presence there is crucial with 10,000 U.S. soldiers based there when they are fully staffed up, of course. But also, when it comes to diplomacy. And it is a Hamas that has conversations with Qatari, but it is also Iranians who have conversations with Qatari and they send those messages to the United States.

We have been told that that channel of communication, using the Qataris a key intermediary over the course of the last few weeks has been critical and has really only ramped up in the last week or so, particularly after that Israeli strike.

ANDERSON: And to that point, I was reminded that it was only Saturday night when we saw the Qatari prime minister, who is also the foreign minister, of course, in Istanbul with the Iranian foreign minister, the point of those talks were to try and mediate Iran and the U.S. back to the negotiation table. And I was told on good authority that those -- that mediation was going very well until the point that the U.S. struck these nuclear sites overnight, Saturday into Sunday.

So, you can see there, to your point, you know, just how close the coordination has been between the U.S., Qatar, and Iran over the past couple of weeks. Let me get you two to standby.

Let's get you live to Tel Aviv, folks, with Jeremy Diamond, who is standing by. An Israeli source was among the first to tell CNN that Iran fired 10 missiles at Qatar. What are you hearing from officials there?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly, in the wake of this Iranian attack on this U.S. airbase in Qatar, Israeli officials were at a heightened state of alert for the possibility of additional waves of Iranian ballistic missiles fired at Israel. Because, again, it's important to note that while the United States carried out those strikes on those three nuclear facilities in Iran, it was -- it only happened because of the preceding week of Israeli military operations there that really paved the way for the United States to be able to carry out these strikes and provided that opportunity.

At this stage though, it's been, you know, about two hours now since we got word of those missiles in the air on route to that U.S. base in Qatar. And we haven't heard any sirens here. There have been no incoming ballistic missiles. And so -- but that doesn't mean, of course, that Iran and Israel are done trading blows.

The last time we saw a barrage of Iranian missiles was this morning, fired at several areas across Israel. We know of at least several impacts in the southern part of Israel. And so, Israeli officials who I've been speaking to have said that they certainly expect that that back and forth will continue.

But at the same time, Becky, this also seems to provide a moment for de-escalation, a possible off-ramp here being offered, on the one hand by the -- that carefully telegraphed Iranian attack on that U.S. base in Doha, which could have, of course, been much more significant, but seems to have been quite limited.

And then on the other hand, you have what can only be described as a week and a half of quite stunning Israeli military successes in Iran. And we've heard from Israeli officials telling us that, you know, Israel may kind of wind down it's a bank of targets in Iran in the coming days. And the Israeli prime minister himself may clear he doesn't want to get dragged into a war of attrition, saying that Israel is very, very close to achieving its military objectives in Iran.

And so, the combination of those factors could very much put the region in a place to de-escalate. Of course, that will require a diplomatic pathway that remains uncertain as of now. But certainly, the conditions on the ground seem to be shifting in that direction.

[14:40:00]

ANDERSON: Jeremy, good to have you. We are going to take a very short break at this point. Do stay with us. Still to come, more inside on that attack by, on a base, a U.S. base in Qatar. We'll be talking to a security expert about what could be next. That after this.

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ANDERSON: Back to our breaking news this hour. Iran says it launched a, quote, "powerful and destructive missile attack" on the Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar. One resident at Doha says he heard loud explosions rock the Qatari capital of Doha. Qatar's defense ministry said its air defenses, quote, "successfully" intercepted an attack targeting the air base. And there were no deaths or injuries.

Earlier, an Israeli source says Iran fired 10 missiles towards Qatar. The U.S. has some 40,000 troops normally stationed in the Middle East at region. Meanwhile, the U.S. assessing the damage on Iran's three major nuclear sites after those weekend attacks on Iran's three major nuclear sites, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency says the U.S. attacks likely caused very significant damage to the Fordow sites buried underground. CNN analysis of these satellite images found the attack on Fordow left behind at least six large craters. Today, Israel says it struck the access route to that same facility. And there is also a dramatic difference in the before and after images from Isfahan, Iran's largest nuclear complex.

Let's bring in Neil Melvin, head of International Security Studies at the Royal United Services Institute. He is live from Stockholm, Sweden tonight. We have seen footage on Press TV, that is Iranian, of the missiles being fired from Iran towards Qatar. What do you make of what we have just seen in the past hour or so?

NEIL MELVIN, DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL SECURITY STUDIES, RUSI: Well, I think, clearly, Iran felt the need to absolutely demonstrate a military response to the United States' attack and the ongoing Israeli attacks. But I think what's noticeable is that this is quite a limited response. It's a small number of missiles. It's an obvious symbolic target, the biggest U.S. base in the region.

[14:45:00]

But the base had largely been evacuated of U.S. aircraft, they're up to 40 just a few days ago. We're down to probably three when the attack took place. And the attack was signaled in advance. So, people knew it was coming. There was time to prepare.

So, to me this is Iran really looking now to signal once an off-ramp from the military confrontation and it's trying to move things away from the enormous pressure that the regime is under from the U.S. attacks and the ongoing Israeli ones.

ANDERSON: I think the sort of received wisdom at this point is that Qatar was warned this attack was telegraphed. I've been told by a very good source, it certainly was not coordinated, but telegraphed and warnings provided certainly seems to have been the case. At this point, no injuries, no deaths. The air defenses seem to have worked very well.

Concern and worry, and I'm sure a lot of shock in Doha by citizens. This is, of course. a country that has warm relations with Iran. Let's describe it as such. It shares the a very big gas field with Iran. Qatari and Iran share a gas field, a very significant, the world's biggest gas field. So, that is -- shows the sort of degree of the relationship here.

I just want to talk about the significance of that U.S. base, evacuated or not, as you rightly point out. This is a very symbolic attack, correct?

MELVIN: I think that -- I mean, we've seen this as a pattern that the Iranians have followed in previous incidents when they felt they've been attacked and they wanted to respond. So, this -- I mean, obviously, as I say, they're under a lot of domestic pressure. We've seen Israeli strike against regime targets, the Evin Prison. Israel has set itself as one of its goals anyway. It hasn't excluded the possibility of regime change. So, it's not just been targeting military sites, but these institutions of governance in Iran.

So, the Iranians need to demonstrate that they were still able to sort of fight back on behalf of their country. But I think the game is really now shifting to the question of how Iran, what's the next step that Iran is going to do? I think they've signaled with this limited response they're looking for a way out of the military confrontation. But then, the onus is going to be on Tehran to come forward with real proposals about how to deal with their nuclear program.

We still don't know where the 400 kilograms of enriched uranium is. It may be trapped in some of the tunnels. It may have been dispersed across Iran. So, we need to find out where that is and what could be done to bring that under international control, to put in place some kind of mechanism to monitor their nuclear programs, the next step.

ANDERSON: And those talks that you are suggesting Iran needs to sort of consider it now. Qatar has been heavily involved in trying to get Iran and the U.S. back around the table. So, some may see this attack as sort of ironic given Qatar's involvement in sort of mediating here. Others will say, well, perhaps this really does provide that off-ramp that is needed. It's good to have you, Neil. Thank you very much indeed for joining us.

Look, there's been real concern around this region that an attack is imminent from Iran in retaliation for those U.S. strikes early Sunday morning, local time, by the U.S. on these nuclear sites. There will be a heightened sense of anxiety, I'm sure, by citizens and residents around this region of the Gulf.

But if, as is the suggestion here, that this may be the sort of one and done response from Iran, perhaps that is as good as it gets for this region, given that there are other bases which clearly could have been targets had Iran decided that was their decision.

Still ahead, we'll have a lot more on Iran's response to those U.S. strikes on its nuclear facilities, as well as new remarks from the IAEA on the damage those facilities may have sustained. More is coming up.

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[14:50:00]

ANDERSON: Right. Back to our breaking news this hour. A U.S. official says the Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar was attacked by short-range and medium-range ballistic missiles. These missiles originated from Iran. And let me quote you here, what this official is saying, "At this time, there are no reports of U.S. casualties. We are monitoring the situation closely and we'll provide more information as it becomes available. There is no reported damage to the Al-Udeid base in Qatar following that Iran -- that launch of missiles by Iran towards the U.S. installation," according to that same official.

Let's bring you Firas Maksad. He is the managing director for the Middle East and North Africa at the Eurasia Group. Joining us now. Firas, firstly, your assessment of what has just happened. FIRAS MAKSAD, MANAGING DIRECTOR FOR MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA, EURASIA GROUP: Becky, rarely is the case where a country fires ballistic missiles at targets and then yet have it to be such a demonstration of weakness and not strength. Of course, the Iranian official statement put out, basically suggested to draw a parallel between the number of ballistic missiles fired and those that were fired by the United States against the nuclear facilities in Iran. There's no comparison. The type of armaments being used, the kind of targets that were selected.

Of course, Iran also made it very clear that these were incomings, it was telegraphed, it was choreographed. Very much the Iranians here are taking every precaution possible to make sure that there isn't an overwhelming American response that can undermine the regime.

I think it's safe to say, Becky, that today was a huge win for President Trump. He gambled. He wagered that he can go after the nuclear facilities in Iran with minimal Iranian reaction. Clearly, today, Iran is very weak. Its proxies and network, its forward defense strategy is down and its willingness to go respond directly against the United States is that much more diminished.

ANDERSON: So, what happens next, briefly?

MAKSAD: Well, I mean, obviously all eyes are on the White House and how President Trump will react to this. He would be wise to take this for what it is, which is not a show of strength, but a show of weakness. There's been no Americans lives lost. The damage is insignificant.

[14:55:00]

And so, this is very much a cue for the United States and the administration to stand down. Now, that doesn't mean that diplomacy will take its course immediately. The war is ongoing between Israel and the United States. But there is room for diplomacy. There's also a need for diplomacy, given the fact that some of that highly enriched uranium continues to be in country in Iran. It's unclear whether that's accounted for or not.

But again, whether it was today's strike or whether it was a strike against Fordow, where Iran was essentially allowed to take out the highly enriched uranium from that facility, very clearly visible two days before, certainly visible to U.S. intelligence.

We're witnessing here that between the U.S. and Iran the communication channels continue to be open. And I believe that countries like Saudi Arabia, others in the GCC, Russia, will play a role in advancing diplomacy in the days and weeks ahead.

ANDERSON: This is fascinating analysis. Look, let's just close with this simple point. I mean, I think it's very clear that this was a symbolic act, this attack on the Al-Udeid base, which had been evacuated some days ago. But still very scary for people who have witnessed this and lived through it tonight. We've seen that video of panic in a mall in Doha. There was always a risk of miscalculation, of course, here and had these missiles taken anybody out, there have been casualties or deaths, that might have changed things significantly, Firas, correct?

MAKSAD: Absolutely. And the president laid out the red line time and again before this happened, an attack on American interest, loss of American lives, that would be the threshold to be crossed. In Al- Udeid, there must have been, you know, immaterial damage, no loss of life. And in fact, if the Iranians really wanted to cause damage, they would've known where to go after. Much of that, more personnel and armament was moved to Saudi Arabia, to Prince Sultan Air Base, which was teaming with American military might, they chose not to. They chose to keep it limited to Al-Udeid. Very symbolic, as you said.

ANDERSON: Firas, always a pleasure. Thank you very much indeed. Do stay right there, folks. I've got a lot more breaking news in the next hour. You're watching CNN.

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