Posted by: John Phoenix
Trump thanked Iran for giving advance notice of the strikes, and said, “IT’S TIME FOR PEACE!”
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Iran fired retaliatory strikes against the U.S. on Monday, targeting an American military base in Qatar with, officials say, with the same number of missiles the U.S. dropped on Iran during its unprovoked attack a day earlier.
U.S. officials have said that there were no reports of casualties from the strike, and a U.S. official told Reuters that no missiles hit the base, with videos and pictures circulating of the missiles being intercepted in the air. The strikes were targeted far from residential areas, Iran said.
President Donald Trump said that Iranian officials provided the U.S. with advance notice of the strike. He struck an optimistic tone in a post on Truth Social shortly after — in sharp contrast to his comments on Saturday threatening more strikes on Iran, and his comments on Monday morning suggesting he wants regime change in Iran.
In his Truth Social post, Trump called the strikes “very weak” and thanked Iran for giving notice. He appeared to insinuate that the tit-for-tat strikes between the U.S. and Iran were over.
“I am pleased to report that NO Americans were harmed, and hardly any damage was done. Most importantly, they’ve gotten it all out of their ‘system,’ and there will, hopefully, be no further HATE. 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,” said Trump.
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“Perhaps Iran can now proceed to Peace and Harmony in the Region, and I will enthusiastically encourage Israel to do the same,” he went on. “CONGRATULATIONS WORLD, IT’S TIME FOR PEACE!” he said in another post.
Reuters reported that Iranian officials told Qatar that they had given advance notice of the strikes, while Reuters and Axios also reported that Iran informed the U.S. ahead of time, citing officials.
The head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said in a statement that the “number of missiles used in this successful operation equals the number of bombs used by the United States in its attack on Iranian nuclear facilities.”
As some have noted, this may have been a sign of Iran attempting to de-escalate. The New York Times, citing three Iranian officials, said that the strikes were symbolic.
Iran “needed to strike back at the U.S. but at the same time carry it out in a way that allowed all sides an exit ramp; they described it as a similar strategy to 2020 when Iran gave Iraq heads up before firing ballistic missiles at an American base in Iraq following the assassination of its top general,” the Times reported.
Iran’s target, Al Udeid Air Base, is a major military asset in the region. It is the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East and is the regional headquarters of U.S. Central Command. There are roughly 10,000 troops stationed at the base.
Reports circulated of Iran also launching missiles at an American base in Iraq, but the attack didn’t happen, those familiar said.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported on Monday that Israel is potentially hoping to wrap up its war on Iran soon, officials said, and that the military is close to having achieved its goals. The future of the war, they say, depends on Iran’s next moves in its strikes launched in response to Israel’s unprovoked attack nine days ago.
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