Satellite Images Show Damage to U.S. Communications Dome at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar

SadaNews - Satellite images analyzed by the "Associated Press" last Friday evening revealed that an Iranian attack on the U.S. Al Udeid air base in Qatar struck a triangular dome containing equipment used by the Americans for secure communications.

Hours after the agency's report was published, U.S. Department of Defense spokesperson Sean Barnell acknowledged that an Iranian ballistic missile hit the dome. Qatar did not respond to requests for comments on the extent of the damage to the base.

The Iranian attack on the Al Udeid air base outside the Qatari capital Doha on June 23 came in response to the U.S. bombing of three nuclear sites in Iran, and it gave the Islamic Republic a path for retaliation which quickly led to a ceasefire, mediated by U.S. President Donald Trump, thus ending the war between Iran and Israel that lasted 12 days.

However, the Iranian attack did not cause significant damage, which may be attributed to the fact that the United States had moved its aircraft from the base, which houses the forward headquarters of the U.S. Central Command, prior to the attack. Trump also stated that Iran indicated when and how it would retaliate, allowing U.S. and Qatari air defense forces to prepare for the attack, which briefly disrupted flights in the Middle East region, but did not escalate into the regional war that analysts feared could erupt.

Satellite images from "Planet Labs BBC" show the triangular dome at Al Udeid air base on the morning of June 23, hours before the attack. However, images taken on June 25 and thereafter show the dome's disappearance, while some damage can be seen in a nearby building. The rest of the base appears largely undamaged in the images.