The State Department urged all U.S. citizens in Qatar to shelter in place until further notice as Iran threatens to respond to the country's attacks on its nuclear facilities on Sunday.
In a publication on social media, the State Department said the security alert was issued "out of an abundance of caution." It did not lay out specific threats. Euronews detailed that people were urged to go to ground floors and stay away from doors, windows and anything that could splinter.
Qatar: Out of an abundance of caution we recommend American citizens shelter in place until further notice.
— Travel - State Dept (@TravelGov) June 23, 2025
Full alert: https://t.co/CXUNdVRZoW pic.twitter.com/CJtuTgPUXV
However, Abdolrahim Mousavi, the new chief of staff of Iranian armed forces, said on Monday that the U.S. violated the country's sovereignty when it attacked three nuclear facilities and "entered the war clearly and directly."
"The criminal US must know that in addition to punishing its illegitimate and aggressive offspring, the hands of Islam's fighters within the armed forces have been freed to take any action against its interests and military, and we will never back down in this regard," he added.
Moreover, Ebrahim Zolfaghari, who according to Al Jazeera is acting as the spokesman of the country's strikes against Israel, said the attack from the U.S. will serve to "expand the scope of the legitimate and various targets of Iranian armed forces, and create the grounds for expanding war in the region."
"Gambler Trump, you may start this war, but we will be the ones to finish it," Zolfaghari added.
The forward headquarters of the U.S. military's Central Command are located in Qatar, more specifically the Al Udeid Air Base. The country, however, has diplomatic relations with Iran and the both share a large offshore natural gas field.
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