Trump says Iran gave advance notice before missile attack on US base in Qatar

US President Donald Trump said Thursday that Iran gave prior notice before launching a missile strike on a major American airbase in Qatar last month in response to US airstrikes targeting Iran’s nuclear program.

Speaking at an event in Iowa marking the one-year countdown to America’s 250th birthday, Trump claimed that Iran informed him in advance of its intention to fire missiles at Al-Udeid Air Base, which serves as the forward headquarters of US Central Command (CENTCOM) in the Middle East.

“You know, they called me to tell me they have to take a shot at us. This was Iran, very respectful. That means they respect us,” he said. “Because we dropped 14 bombs, they said, ‘We’d like to take 14 shots at you.’ I said, ‘go ahead. I understand.’”

He said that Iran also specified the exact timing of the attack.

“They said where they’d do it. I said, ‘good.’ We emptied out the fort. It was a beautiful military base in Qatar,” he said. “They said, ‘Sir, one o’clock.’ I said it was fine.”

“Can you imagine? They were nice enough— this is Iran — to call me and tell me that they would like to shoot me at 14 times… I said, ‘Go ahead’. And they shot 14 high-grade, very fast missiles. Every single one of them was shot down.”

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The strike, which occurred on June 23, came after nearly two weeks of escalation in the region which began June 13, when Israel launched airstrikes on Iranian military and nuclear sites.

Tehran responded with missile and drone attacks, while the US bombed three Iranian nuclear facilities.

The conflict ended under a US-brokered ceasefire that took effect June 24.

Trump also repeated his claim that the US airstrikes had destroyed Iran’s nuclear program.

“Iran’s nuclear enrichment has been obliterated,” he said. “Remember when CNN said it wasn’t obliterated? Now it’s been proven… it’s been obliterated.”

The Pentagon said Wednesday that Iran’s nuclear program was “degraded” by one to two years during recent US airstrikes.

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