Qatar’s Ministry of Defense claimed Monday that its air force had shot down two Iranian Su-24 bombers, in the latest sign that the American war on Tehran has broadened to the wider Middle East.
The statement also said that Doha intercepted seven Iranian missiles and five drones.
There were no details of any casualties and no immediate response from Iran to Qatar’s statement.
A Russian Su-24 in Moscow. Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
A missile is launched from the USS Thomas Hudner. US NAVY/AFP via Getty Images
The Iron Dome intercepts a missile over Jerusalem. ATEF SAFADI/EPA/ShutterstockThe Iranian air force is estimated to have approximately 20 Soviet and Russian-made Su-24s in its inventory.
Qatar and other Middle Eastern countries have come under constant assault from Iranian aircraft, missiles and drones since the joint US-Israel campaign began Saturday morning.
Earlier Monday, state-run QatarEnergy said it would stop its production of liquefied natural gas due to the war, taking one of the world’s top suppliers off the market. It offered no timeline for restoring its production.
A plume of smoke rises after a strike in Tehran, Iran, on Monday. AP
People ride motorcycles following an Israeli and U.S. strike on Gandhi Hotel Hospita in Tehran, Iran, on Monday. via REUTERSEuropean natural gas prices surged by 40% in response to the announcement.
Separately, Doha reported that that Iran launched two additional drone attacks, one targeting a water tank at a power plant in Mesaieed, in southern Qatar, and another targeting an energy facility operated by Qatar Energy in the industrial city of Ras Laffan.
On Saturday, shortly after the US-Israel attack on Tehran began, the Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Iranian ambassador and put out a statement condemning “reckless and irresponsible” strikes targeting Qatari territory.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei claimed in an interview with Al Jazeera the same day that Tehran was “defending national sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Iran against these barbaric acts of aggression” by Washington and the Jewish state.
In a joint statement Sunday, the US, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates denounced Iran’s “unjustified” strikes, calling them “a dangerous escalation that violates the sovereignty of multiple states and threatens regional stability.”






