{"id":51597,"date":"2025-06-24T11:32:22","date_gmt":"2025-06-24T06:02:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=51597"},"modified":"2025-06-25T11:19:42","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T05:49:42","slug":"iran-missile-strikes-us-base","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/iran-missile-strikes-us-base\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran Retaliates with Missile Strikes on US Bases in Qatar"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Iran Missile Strike US Base Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A day after the US struck Iranian nuclear sites in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, Iran retaliated by launching missile attacks on the Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, which serves as the forward headquarters of the US Central Command.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Global US Military Footprint<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to a July 2024 Congressional Research Service report, the US operates at least <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">128 overseas military bases across 51 countries<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the Middle East, under CENTCOM, the US maintains key bases in Qatar (Al Udeid), Bahrain, Kuwait, UAE, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia, with additional deployments in Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and Yemen.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These bases support surveillance, combat, airlift, missile defence, and counterterrorism operations, with major installations like Al Udeid and Bahrain\u2019s Fifth Fleet serving as strategic regional hubs.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>About Al Udeid<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Al Udeid Air Base is located in the desert near Doha, Qatar, about 190 km south of Iran. It is the largest US military base in the Middle East.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Strategic Role<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Established in 1996, Al Udeid serves as the forward headquarters of the US Central Command (CENTCOM), overseeing operations from Egypt to Kazakhstan.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Al Udeid is CENTCOM\u2019s forward headquarters. The main CENTCOM headquarters is in Florida.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Al Udeid is also linked to other US activities in Qatar. A nearby former army base, Camp As Sayliyah, has been used to process Afghans seeking resettlement since 2022.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Multinational Presence<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The base hosts around 10,000 troops and accommodates forces from the US Air Force, Qatar Emiri Air Force, the UK\u2019s Royal Air Force, and other allied nations.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Infrastructure and Capabilities<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Al Udeid\u2019s long runways support rapid deployment, making it key for US force projection.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It has been critical in operations across Iraq, Afghanistan, and humanitarian efforts like the Kabul evacuation in 2021.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Qatari Investment<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Qatar has invested over $8 billion in upgrading Al Udeid\u2019s infrastructure, keeping it modern and reducing the financial burden on US taxpayers.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>India Monitors Tensions After Iranian Strike in Qatar<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Delhi is closely watching the situation in Qatar after Iran launched a military attack on the US-operated Al Udeid Air Base.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Indian embassy issued an alert advising the over <\/span><b>8.3 lakh Indians in Qatar<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to remain calm, follow local news and Qatari authority instructions, and stay updated via the embassy\u2019s social media channels.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>India-Qatar: A Strong Bilateral Relationship<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India shares deep political and economic ties with Qatar:<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PM Narendra Modi visited Doha twice\u2014<\/span><b>June 2016<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>February 2024<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India maintains high-level contacts with Qatar&#8217;s leadership.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In February 2025, during the visit of Amir of the State of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, both the countries announced the elevation of India-Qatar ties to a <\/span><b>Strategic Partnership<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Indian Diaspora in Qatar<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are over 835,000 Indian nationals residing in Qatar as on December 2023.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Indian community comprises around 27% of total population of Qatar<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Indians form the largest expatriate community in Qatar, engaged in diverse sectors such as healthcare, education, construction, IT, media, and finance.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Over 60,000 Indian students attend 19 Indian schools, with approx. 4,500 Indian teachers and staff.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Indian Business Presence<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Over 20,000 Indian companies operate in Qatar across sectors like infrastructure, energy, IT, and communications.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Notable companies include L&amp;T, Shapoorji Pallonji, Wipro, TCS, Tech Mahindra, Lulu Group, Malabar, and Tanishq.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Indian investment in Qatar exceeded $350 million between 2017 and 2025, per Invest Qatar.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Energy Cooperation between India and Qatar<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Qatar is the largest supplier of LNG to India (10.74 MMT for US$ 8.32 billion in FY 2022-23), accounting for over 48% of India&#8217;s global LNG imports.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Qatar is also India\u2019s largest supplier of LPG (5.33 MMT for US$ 4.04 billion in FY 2022-23) accounting for 29% of India\u2019s total LPG imports.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source:<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/world\/all-about-al-udeid-us-air-base-iran-missiles-qatar-10084062\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">IE<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> | <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/india\/qatar-8-lakh-indians-delhi-iran-situation-alerts-nationals-10084109\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">IE<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> |\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/international\/iran-launches-missiles-on-american-air-base-in-qatar-israel-iran-conflict-june-23-2025\/article69729205.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">TH<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Following US attacks on Iranian nuclear sites, Iran struck Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar and other US facilities in Iraq.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":51625,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[1001,60,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-51597","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-iran-missile-strike-us-base","9":"tag-mains-articles","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51597"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51597\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}