Iranian bomber were just minutes away from striking the largest key US military base in Qatar's Doha before Qatari jets reportedly shot them down on Monday, the third day of the drone-missile exchange across the Middle East region sparked by US-Israel strikes on Iran that killed their Supreme Leader - Ayatollah Khamenei - and intensified by Tehran's retaliation.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard (IRCG) on Monday morning sent two Soviet-era Su-24 tactical bombers toward al-Udeid Air Base in Doha - the largest military base housing US troops in the Middle East - and key natural gas processing facility Ras Laffan - known to be a bedrock of the Qatari economy, according to a CNN report, which cited two sources in the know of the operation. Track latest in Iran-US war here
The strike would have been a massive blow to the US and allies given the significance of the targets, including the American base in Doha which typically houses 10,000 US service members.
‘Iranian jets were 2 minutes away’
The Iranian jets were "two minutes" away from their targets, one of the sources cited in the CNN report said, while the second told that the planes were visually identified and photographed "carrying bombs and guided munitions," triggering a warning by Qatari authorities over radio.
{{/usCountry}}The Iranian jets were "two minutes" away from their targets, one of the sources cited in the CNN report said, while the second told that the planes were visually identified and photographed "carrying bombs and guided munitions," triggering a warning by Qatari authorities over radio.
{{/usCountry}}The Qataris warning received no response from the jets, which had switched to a flying altitude of 80 feet to evade radar detection, the second source was quoted as saying.
Given the "time constraints" and "based on the available evidence," the aircraft were "classified as hostile," according to the second source. Qatar then dispatched its fighter aircraft, including an F-15 which engaged the Iranian planes in "aerial combat" before downing them, the second source added.
The Iranian jets crashed into Qatar's waters, the report mentioned, adding that . Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari told a briefing on Tuesday that a search was underway for the crews.
Iran, in retaliation for the US and Israel airstrikes that killed its Supreme Leader Khamenei last weekend, has launched a wave of missiles and unmanned drones towards the rival states' allies spread across the Middle East. Apart from Qatar, Iran's retaliatory fire has targeted Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) etc.
First air-to-air combat for Qatar Air Force
The Iran military action targeting the US troops in Qatar marked the first time Iranians used a manned aircraft against a neighbouring country since the assassination of Khamenei and also the debut of Qatari air force in air-to-air combat.
“Qatari fighters for the first time have shot down two Iranian bombers on route to their location,” CNN quoted as saying US Gen Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who acknowledged the incident in a briefing on Wednesday without mentioning the Iranian bombers' target.
Qatar Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, in a phone conversation call with Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday, described the incident as "escalatory" and one does not indicate "genuine desire" by Iran to deescalate or find a resolution.
"Rather, it seeks to inflict harm on its neighbors and drag them into a war that is not theirs," the report quoted Al Thani as saying, citing a readout of the call.