Iran has attacked United States forces stationed at the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, saying it was retaliating against the US strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites.

The attacks on Monday were confirmed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in a statement addressed to the Iranian people.

Consecutive flares, coupled with loud explosions, were seen in Qatar’s capital, Doha, and other parts of the country.The IRGC, in its statement, said it launched a “powerful and devastating missile attack” as part of Operation Annunciation of Victory in response to the “blatant military aggression” by the US on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

The IRGC also said its “decisive action” sent a message to the White House and its allies that Iran would, “under no circumstances, leave any aggression against its territorial integrity, sovereignty, or national security unanswered”.

“US bases and mobile military assets in the region are not points of strength, but rather major vulnerabilities,” the statement warned.

Iran said it targeted the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar because it “serves as the command centre of the US Air Force and is the largest strategic asset of the American terrorist army in West Asia”.

Tehran also noted that the missile strike was conducted away from residential areas in Qatar.

“This action does not pose any threat to the friendly and brotherly country, Qatar, and its noble people, and the Islamic Republic of Iran remains committed to maintaining and continuing warm and historic relations with Qatar,” Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said in a statement.