Doha, Jun 23 (AP) Iran fired 19 missiles at the base in Qatar, and one impacted the facility but caused no casualties, a Qatari military officer said late Monday.

Maj Gen Shayeq Al Hajri told reporters that seven missiles were fired from Iran and all were intercepted over the water between the two countries by Qatari air defences. Iran then fired 12 more missiles and 11 were intercepted over Qatari territory, but one hit the US base, Al Hajri said.

Also Read | 'Reserves the Right To Respond Directly': Qatar on Iran's Retaliatory Action Against US at Al Udeid Air Base.

It was not immediately clear how much damage was caused by the missile.

The number of missiles differed from a figure given by Trump, who said 14 missiles were fired, 13 were knocked down and one was “set free” because it posed no threat.

Also Read | Israel-Iran Conflict: Air India Express Diverts 2 Doha-Bound Flights Following Qatar Airspace Closure.

Trump says Iran gave US advanced warning of attacks on base in Qatar

President Trump said Iran warned the US before its missile strike Monday on an American air base in Qatar.

“I want to thank Iran for giving us early notice, which made it possible for no lives to be lost, and nobody to be injured,” Trump wrote on social media.

The president expressed hope that the missile would be the end of Iranian retaliation for US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

“Most importantly, they've gotten it all out of their 'system', and there will, hopefully, be no further HATE,” he said.

No attack on US base in Iraq, senior US military official says

A senior US military official said that earlier reports of a missile launched at a base housing American forces in Iraq on Monday were a false alarm.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to comment publicly, said that “debris from a malfunctioning Iranian missile targeting Israel targeted an alert” of an impending attack on the Ain al-Assad base housing US troops in western Iraq.

“There was no attack on the base,” he said.

An Iraqi security official said earlier that the Iraqis had been informed by US officials that missiles had been launched toward the base, but that no missiles ever arrived.

Jordan's king calls for calm in the region

Jordan's King Abdullah II spoke to Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani after the Iranian strike, according to the Jordanian Royal Court.

Abdullah condemned the strike, calling it a violation of Qatar's sovereignty and of international law. He called for calm in the region.

Jordan is a key US ally in the Middle East.

Former Israeli security advisor says Iran likely safeguarded enriched uranium

Yaakov Amidror, a former Israeli national security adviser, said the Iranians may have moved it from the heavily-fortified Fordo facility in anticipation of the US attacking it.

Enriched uranium held at the facility was also likely held in “big strong cannisters” and could potentially be retrieved by the Iranians if it survived the bombardment. Uranium in the process of being enriched would have been destroyed by in the bombing, Amridror added.

“I believe that the Iranians were smart enough not to be in the middle of any process, but all the uranium which had been in Fordo was kept in canisters, so it will not (be destroyed),” Amidror told reporters on Monday. “The main concerns of Israel now is the enriched uranium still in the hands of the Iranians.”

The Strait of Hormuz is a vital route for oil; closing it could backfire on Iran

The war between Israel and Iran has raised concerns that Iran could retaliate by trying to close the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important oil chokepoint, due to the large volumes of crude that pass through it every day.

The US military's strike on Iran has raised questions about how its military might respond.

The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D Eisenhower and other warships crosses the Strait of Hormuz into the Persian Gulf on Sunday, Nov 26, 2023.

The Strait of Hormuz is between Oman and Iran, which boasts a fleet of fast-attack boats and thousands of naval mines as well as missiles that it could use to make the strait impassable, at least for a time.

About 20 million barrels of oil per day, or around 20% of the world's oil consumption, passed through the strait in 2024. Most of that oil goes to Asia.

If Iran blocked the strait, oil prices could shoot as high as $120-$130 per barrel, at least temporarily, said Homayoun Falakshahi, head of crude oil analyst at Kpler, in an online webinar Sunday.

That would deal an inflationary shock to the global economy - if it lasted. Analysts think it wouldn't. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)