Iran fires missiles at U.S. base in Qatar. Where else could it strike?
The missile attack on U.S. military installations in Qatar June 23 is the first counterattack from Iran, something the Pentagon has braced for since June 21, when the United States struck nuclear targets in Iran.
A U.S. air base in Iraq, Ain al-Asad, also activated its air defense system out of concern for a possible missile attack, military officials told Reuters.
Even as the Pentagon had begun taking measures to strengthen its firepower in the Middle East and protect U.S. bases and other interests in the region, Iranian missiles were reported near an air base in Qatar and a base in western Iraq.
It's estimated that the United States has at least 40,000 troops stationed at bases from Bahrain to Syria. Commanders at those bases have stepped up defenses and put troops on higher alert for counterassaults, which could include Iranian ballistic missiles, drone strikes and terrorist attacks.
Where U.S. military facilities are at risk
Iran retains a large number of short-range ballistic missiles it could use to strike U.S. bases in the Middle East. Nations with key U.S. bases in the Middle East that could be vulnerable to Iranian ballistic missiles include Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Syria and the United Arab Emirates.
Iran's ballistic missiles
U.S. bases in neighboring countries are well within reach of Iran's arsenal of short- and medium-range missiles. Here are the missiles Iran is known to have fired at Israel in the past, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Contributing: Tom Vanden Brook and Cybele Mayes-Osterman
SOURCES Reuters, Institute and the Institute for the Study of War and AEI's The Critical Threats Project 2025, GoogleEarth, © Mapcreator.io | © OSM.org