Iran Attack On Qatar Air Base Hit Geodesic Dome Used For U.S. Communications

An Iranian attack on a key air base in Qatar likely struck a geodesic dome housing equipment used by the U.S. military for secure communications, satellite images analyzed by Jon Gambrell of the Associated Press (AP) show.

The Iranian strike caused limited damage—likely because the U.S. had already evacuated aircraft from the base. I Photo: 505th Command and Control Wing, U.S. Air Force

The attack on Al Udeid Air Base, located outside Doha, Qatar’s capital, occurred in response to American airstrikes on three nuclear sites in Tehran.

The strike provided the Islamic Republic with a chance to retaliate, which quickly led to a ceasefire brokered by President Donald Trump, ending the 12-day Iran-Israel war.

The Iranian strike caused limited damage—likely because the U.S. had already evacuated aircraft from the base, which is home to the forward headquarters of U.S. Central Command.

President Trump also said Iran had signaled when and how it would retaliate, allowing American and Qatari air defenses to prepare.

While the attack briefly disrupted air travel in the Middle East, it stopped short of triggering the broader regional war long feared by analysts. Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC show the geodesic dome still intact on the morning of June 23, just hours before the attack.

The U.S. Air Force's 379th Air Expeditionary Wing had installed the $15 million piece of equipment—known as a Modernized Enterprise Terminal—in 2016.

The dome, also known as a radome, housed a satellite dish. Images taken on June 25 and in the following days show the dome is gone, with visible burn marks and some damage to a nearby building.

The rest of the base appears largely untouched, AP’s Nasser Karimi and Jerusalem Post also reported.