What is 'Operation Herald of Victory’? Iran escalates Middle East crisis by bombing US military bases in Qatar

Iran conducted missile strikes on US bases in Qatar, named 'Operation Herald of Victory', following US attacks on its nuclear sites.

Iran launched an offensive missile bombardment at US military basesin Qatar, a day after US aircraft struck Iranian nuclear targets. The mission has been named ‘Operation Herald of Victory’.

US military base of Al-Udeid in Qatar includes the forward components of CENTCOM, as well as of its air forces and special operation forces in the region. It also hosts rotating combat aircraft, as well as the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, which includes "airlift, aerial refueling intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, and aeromedical evacuation assets.(AFP)

The Iranian military announced in a statement after the successful retaliation operation, code-named “Operation Herald of Victory,” that it was carried out in wake of the “blatant military aggression by the criminal regime of the United States” against the Iran's nuclear facilities.

Who directed Iran's strike on US military bases in Qatar?

Using the holy code “Ya Aba Abdillah al-Hussain (AS),” the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said that it launched a devastating and potent missile strike on the Al Udeid base in Qatar at the direction of the Supreme National Security Council and under the command of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters (PBUH). The statement called the US aggression “a clear violation of international law.”

This installation is the US military's most valuable strategic asset in West Asia, which also houses the US Air Force Command headquarters.

“The message of this decisive action by the sons of the nation in the armed forces to the White House and its allies is clear and direct,” the statement noted, adding Iran will “never leave any violation of its territorial integrity, sovereignty, or national security unanswered.”

Iran calls US ‘warmongering regime’

In addition, it stated that the aggression of the American enemy has “exposed to all that Zionist malice is simply a continuation of US strategy”. The statement claimed to remind everyone that US military bases and assets in the area “are not points of strength but critical vulnerabilities — the Achilles' heel of this warmongering regime” in terms of national defense.

“On the eve of the month of Muharram, the time of mourning for the Master of Martyrs, Imam Aba Abdillah al-Hussain (AS), we once again warn the enemies of Islamic Iran that the era of 'hit and run' is over,” the Iranian armed forces stated.

Israel Iran war and the US factor 

The United States committed a serious breach of international law, the UN Charter, and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty on Sunday when it struck three Iranian nuclear installations in Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordow.

The American attack occurred over a week after Israel launched airstrikes on Iran, killing several high-ranking military leaders, scientists, and common citizens.

According to the Israeli army, it targeted the headquarters of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) battalions and internal security personnel in the Tehran region.

Approximately 500 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on Iran on June 13, as per Iran's health ministry.

Since then, the two countries have been exchanging missile fire every day, and according to Israeli officials, 24 Israelis have been killed by Iranian strikes.