President Trump said Monday the Iranian government offered “early notice” about a series of missile strikes that targeted the U.S. Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, downplaying Iran’s response to the U.S. bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites over the weekend as “very weak.”
“I want to thank Iran for giving us early notice, which made it possible for no lives to be lost, and nobody to be injured,” Mr. Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
The president did not specify how much early warning Iran gave or how the warning was delivered. But Mr. Trump’s message seemed to confirm speculation that Iran could telegraph its plans for retaliation in advance, giving the United States a chance to minimize the damage and avoid an escalation.
Hours after the Qatar strikes on Monday, Mr. Trump announced Israel and Iran had agreed to a ceasefire starting at midnight ET, less than two weeks after Israel began striking Iranian targets and Iran responded with missiles. Neither Israel nor Iran has commented on a ceasefire.
Diplomatic sources told CBS News that Monday’s counterattack from Iran was expected and calibrated, and U.S. and Qatari officials met over the weekend to prepare.
The move to give advance notice echoes Iran’s 2020 strikes on a U.S. military base in Iraq in retaliation for the Trump-ordered killing of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps head Qassem Soleimani. Iraq’s prime minister at the time said Iran gave him advance notice of the strikes, which did not kill any American service members, though more than 100 were diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries following the strikes, the Pentagon said at the time.
Mr. Trump said Monday’s strikes caused very little damage. Most of the missiles fired at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar were shot down “and hardly any damage was done,” the president wrote, describing the attack as “very weak” and “expected.” He said no Americans or Qataris were killed or wounded in the attack on Al Udeid, which houses thousands of U.S. troops.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, also said nobody was harmed in the missile strikes, writing so in an X post that showed an illustration of an American military base engulfed in flames.
Iran warned of “all-out war” last week — but Trump says “TIME FOR PEACE”
Mr. Trump ordered U.S. airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities early Sunday morning local time, joining a more-than-weeklong Israeli offensive against Iranian military and nuclear targets.
Prior to the U.S. airstrikes, Iran had warned that U.S. involvement in Israel’s campaign could lead to “all-out war.” CBS News reported last week that Iran had prepared for strikes against U.S. military bases in the region if the U.S. decided to attack.
Shortly after the U.S. strikes, Mr. Trump warned on Saturday that any Iranian retaliation “WILL BE MET WITH FORCE FAR GREATER THAN WHAT WAS WITNESSED TONIGHT.”
On Monday, following Iran’s counterattacks on Al Udeid, Mr. Trump did not indicate any further strikes were planned. He wrote on Truth Social that he believes Iran has “gotten it all out of their ‘system,’ and there will, hopefully, be no further HATE.”
He also urged both Iran and Israel to “proceed to Peace and Harmony,” likely referring to the Trump administration’s push for a deal to limit the scope of Iran’s nuclear program.
“CONGRATULATIONS WORLD, IT’S TIME FOR PEACE!” the president wrote.
