
Iran fired missiles at a US air base in Qatar after promising it would respond "proportionately and decisively" to President Donald Trump's weekend airstrikes on three of its nuclear facilities.
Qatar said the barrage at Al Udeid base the biggest such US facility in the Middle East was intercepted and that there were no casualties. Al Udeid is the regional headquarters for US Central Command, which oversees the American military in the region, and is home to several thousand US service-members, though many staff had been evacuated.
Oil prices fell immediately after the attack, with Brent dropping 3.3% to $74.48 a barrel as of 6:10 p.m. The attack included at least six missiles fired toward US military bases in Qatar, according to a person familiar with the matter. The UAE and Bahrain closed their airspace as a precaution.
Iran's missile strike on Qatar was telegraphed and had been expected by the US and its allies, according to another person familiar with western intelligence assessments who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations. UK and US diplomatic missions advised Doha-based residents earlier in the day to shelter in place "until further notice."
Iranian officials also suggested the move had a symbolic element. The number of missiles fired matched the number of bombs deployed by the US, and the Qatar strike "poses no danger" to a "friendly and brotherly country," the state-run IRNA news agency said.
A Qatari government spokesman said on X that the base had been evacuated earlier.
The move comes after the US struck three major nuclear sites in Iran on Saturday night. Tehran vowed to retaliate for what it called a "grave mistake" by Trump in joining Israel's attacks on Iranian nuclear sites, Abdolrahim Mousavi, chief of staff of Iran's armed forces, said in a video posted on social media by Iran's state broadcaster on Monday.
Trump had previously vowed to meet any retaliation with force "far greater" than the US strikes on the nuclear sites. He also floated the possibility of regime change in Iran, although US and Israeli officials Sunday stressed that isn't their aim.
Israel had earlier ratcheted up attacks on various Iranian targets in the more than weeklong conflict, with the Israel Defense Forces warning residents of Tehran to expect further strikes in the coming days.
The Islamic Republic fired several missiles of its own at Israel, suggesting no immediate plans to pare back the hostilities.
Trump's decision to deploy bunker-busting bombs and cruise missiles on the country's three main nuclear sites on Sunday pushed the Middle East into uncharted territory and boosted risks in a global economy already facing severe uncertainty over his trade wars.
The US operation which targeted nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan marked Washington's direct entry to the war that began on June 13 when Israel unleashed attacks on Iran's nuclear and military facilities, and killed senior commanders and atomic scientists.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the strikes had a "limited" objective, focused on destroying Iran's atomic program.
Source : Bloomberg
Japan's annual inflation rate edged down to 2.9% in November 2025 from October's 3-month high of 3.0%. Core inflation stood at 3.0%, keeping the same pace as in October and aligning with estimates. Mo...
Goldman Sachs sees gold prices climbing 14% to $4,900 per ounce by December 2026 in its base case, it said in a note on Thursday, while citing upside risks to this view due to a potential broadening o...
The BRICS group of countries is increasingly being considered as an alternative for global diplomacy and cooperation amidst increasing tariff and protectionist policies from the United States. A numbe...
Applications for US unemployment benefits fell after a spike in the previous week, underscoring the choppy nature of the data at this time of year. Initial claims decreased by 13,000 to 224,000 ...
Annual inflation in the United States (US), as measured by the change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), fell 2.7% in November, according to a report by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Thur...
US stocks closed sharply higher on a triple-witching Friday, with the S&P 500 rising 0,9%, the Nasdaq 100 gaining 1.4%, and the Dow Jones adding more than 180 points, extending gains from the previous session as technology stocks...
European equities closed higher on Friday, with the STOXX 50 up 0.6% and the STOXX 600 rising 0.4% to a fresh record, boosted by expectations of further Fed rate cuts next year and fading bets that the ECB will raise borrowing costs in...
Gold (XAU/USD) Gold (XAU/USD) regains ground on Friday, edging modestly higher after earlier weakness, even as a resilient US Dollar (USD) caps upside momentum. At the time of writing, XAU/USD trades around $4,345, recovering from a daily low near...
Fed Governor Christopher Waller said Wednesday that the Fed is in no rush to cut interest rates, given the current outlook, according to...
The Bank of Japan (BOJ) is expected to raise interest rates on Friday to a three-decade high, from 0.5% to 0.75%, signaling readiness for further...
European stocks finished in positive territory on Thursday as traders positioned for central bank decisions today.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was...
The United States ordered a blockade of Venezuelan oil tankers because the Trump administration believes President Nicolás Maduro's regime is acting...