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Iran Targets Qatar Base Used by US Military in Retaliation for Unprovoked Trump Attack

Original article by Brett Wilkins republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

This United States Air Force photo shows an aerial view of al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar. (Photo: Scott Reed/USAF)

Sources also said Iran launched at least one missile at a U.S. base in Iraq.

Loud explosions were heard over Qatar’s capital Doha Monday as Iran launched missiles targeting a military base in the Gulf nation used by U.S. forces and another American installation in Iraq in retaliation for last week’s illegal and unprovoked bombing of Iranian civilian nuclear strikes ordered by President Donald Trump.

An unnamed Israeli source told Axios that at least 10 missiles were launched toward Qatar and one at Iraq. The attack on Qatar targeted al-Udeid Air Base, located approximately 20 miles outside Doha. More than 8,000 U.S. troops are stationed at al-Udeid, which also hosts Qatari, British, and other forces.

Iranian officials said they launched the same quantity of missiles as the number of bombs used in the U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites on Saturday.

Iran fires ballistic missiles at US military bases in Qatar.Explosions seen over Doha.The US deployed THAAD systems in Qatar in anticipation of Iranian attacks.

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— Adam Schwarz (@adamjschwarz.bsky.social) June 23, 2025 at 9:48 AM

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said that “following the blatant military aggression of the criminal regime of the United States of America against the peaceful nuclear facilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the clear violation of international law” IRCG “has targeted the Al-Udeid base in Qatar with a devastating and powerful missile attack.”

An announcement on Iranian state media called the attack “a mighty and successful response by the armed forces of Iran to America’s aggression.”

However, there have not yet been any reports of casualties or damage at al-Udeid or any other U.S. base. There have also not been any reports of U.S. military response.

The New York Times reported that Iran warned the U.S. of the imminent attack. Iran’s apparently symbolic retaliation was similar to Tehran’s response to the 2020 Trump-ordered assassination of IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani and likely meant to give both sides a deescalatory offramp, experts said.

The Qatari Ministry of Defense said the country’s air defenses “successfully intercepted a missile attack targeting al-Udeid Air Base.”

Qatar, which enjoys good relations with Tehran, condemned the Iranian attack and stressed that it “reserves the right” to respond “directly” and “in line with international law.”

Monday’s developments came amid Israel’s ongoing U.S.-backed wars on Iran and Palestine and Iran’s retaliatory missile strikes on Israel.

Responding to the Iranian retaliation, Trita Parsi, executive vice president at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, said on X that “there is a scenario, similar to the 2020 strikes against Iraqi bases, in which both sides call it quits after one round of fire.”

“But I find that scenario unstable because of the Israeli element,” he continued. “Israel will continue to strike Iran and vice versa, and as long as that is the case, the Israelis will continue to put relentless pressure on Trump to join the war in various ways.”

“None of this would have happened had Trump rejected the first step that Israel pushed him to take—shifting his red line to ‘zero enrichment,'” Parsi asserted. “That misstep deliberately set up a cascade of events that predictably led to this current war.”

“Trump’s only exit out of this is to discard the Israeli red line of zero-enrichment and return to the American red line of no weaponization,” he added.

Original article by Brett Wilkins republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

Continue ReadingIran Targets Qatar Base Used by US Military in Retaliation for Unprovoked Trump Attack

Green Party respond to US strikes on Iran

Green Party Co-leader Adrian Ramsay. Wikipedia CC.
Green Party Co-leader Adrian Ramsay. Wikipedia CC.

Responding to news of US attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities, Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay MP said:

“We utterly condemn the reckless attacks on Iran by the United States that can only lead to further dangerous conflict in an already volatile region. There is no international legal basis for this unilateral action that poses a serious threat to international peace and security.

“Our prime minister has shamefully decided to echo the rhetoric of Trump and Netanyahu rather than condemn the indefensible aggression of both Israel and the US. Keir Starmer has further implied that it is justifiable for the Iranian regime to be bombed back to the negotiating table. I fully recognise the brutal nature of the Iranian regime but this unilateral action is no way to build peace and risks making the UK once again complicit in escalating a Middle East crisis.”

Continue ReadingGreen Party respond to US strikes on Iran

Greens denounce “Britannia Card” as Reform UK’s latest wheeze to prop up the super wealthy 

Green Party Co-leader Adrian Ramsay. Wikipedia CC.
Green Party Co-leader Adrian Ramsay. Wikipedia CC.

Reacting to Reform UK’s plans for a “Britannia Card” which would offer wealthy foreigners and returning British expats a bespoke tax regime in exchange for a one-off payment of £250,000 – with all funds collected redistributed to Britain’s lowest-paid workers – Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay MP said:  

“Nigel Farage’s latest wheeze to prop up the super wealthy, dressed up as helping the poorest, would result in an estimated loss of a whopping £34bn to the Treasury. Rather than enabling the super-rich to buy their way out of paying UK tax, the Green Party would tax investment income as equivalent to earned income and introduce a wealth tax based on assets. This is the way to fix our public services to benefit everyone. 

“This is another reminder that Reform UK is a Party run by multi-millionaires out to look after their own and with net zero interest in the rest of us. There’s nothing patriotic about a “Britannia card” that would let the ultra-wealthy avoid paying taxes and contributing to society.” 

Nigel Farage says he's too stupid to answer questions about the hit to the UK economy of his plans to suck up to the uber-rich.
Nigel Farage says he’s too stupid to answer questions about the hit to the UK economy of his plans to suck up to the uber-rich.
Continue ReadingGreens denounce “Britannia Card” as Reform UK’s latest wheeze to prop up the super wealthy 

Thousands protest in The Hague ahead of NATO summit

Original article by Ana Vračar republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Thousands marched in The Hague on June 22 against the NATO Summit. Photo: PTB

Thousands of people took to the streets of The Hague on June 22 to protest against a looming increase in NATO contributions by European member states. A day before, activists gathered for a counter-NATO conference, while European leaders prepared to arrive in the Netherlands for the alliance’s meeting. Their aim, according to the European Left, one of the event’s co-organizers, was to envision “a peaceful and just Europe rooted in cooperation – not confrontation.”

“As world leaders prepare to meet behind closed doors on June 24-25, voices from across the globe came together in the streets to demand a different future,” the European Left stated. That future, they explained, requires slashing military budgets, ending perpetual wars, and prioritizing diplomacy over destruction.

Hundreds of international activists joined the protest, bringing their respective struggles to the streets of The Hague. Students from the Collettivo Autorganizzato Universitario (CAU) joined the mobilization just one day after mass protests in Rome had called for an end to war, militarization, and Italian complicity in the genocide in Palestine.

“After the United States bombed Iran overnight, the need to call for an exit from NATO has become even more urgent,” CAU said from the march. “We denounce NATO and US complicity in driving us toward a permanent war economy and a climate of conflict. For this reason, we must continue to organize and mobilize.”

The protests came only hours after US President Donald Trump bragged about airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites, drawing even more criticism of US influence over NATO and Europe. “They [the US] have joined the illegal attack on Iran, killing Iranians, illegally attacking nuclear sites,” MEP Marc Botenga of the Workers’ Party of Belgium (PTB-PVDA) told Peoples Dispatch. “If you bomb nuclear sites, you risk provoking a nuclear catastrophe, killing mass numbers of civilians.”

So far, European politicians and institutions have failed to condemn the US attacks on Iran, with some even voicing support, once again revealing their unwillingness to break from Trump’s agenda. In contrast, The Hague demonstrations called for a decisive change in direction and for Europe to take action to prevent further attacks. “The people from Palestine, the people from Iran, these innocent civilians that are being hurt today, they have our full solidarity,” Botenga said. “We will continue to mobilize here to stop EU complicity in these crimes.”

Original article by Ana Vračar republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Continue ReadingThousands protest in The Hague ahead of NATO summit

Now in its third year, war in Sudan is “is far from over”

Original article by Pavan Kulkarni republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

The violence in Sudan has pushed North Darfur’s Zamzam camp, home to over 500,000 people, into famine. Photo: WHO

“The world has completely forgotten the crisis in Sudan” where “a slow death” has become the plight of millions, decried Adam Rojal, spokesperson of the General Coordination of Darfur Displaced People and Refugees.

As the fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) intensifies in North Darfur state and the Kordofan region, UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk warned on Friday, June 20 of a “further aggravation in an already brutal and deadly conflict.”

The war, which began in April 2023, has created the world’s worst humanitarian disaster, displacing nearly 13 million, leaving Sudan with the highest number of displaced people globally. 30 million, almost two-thirds of the population, need humanitarian aid, including food assistance.

The worst affected are children, amounting to half of the hungry and displaced population, the UN said last week, decrying a severe fund shortage, leaving it unable to assist over 80% of the children in need.

Children under the age of five are the largest group of victims of the measles outbreak, amounting to over 60% of the 2,200 suspected cases since the start of this year. Another 230 children have been killed and 7,300 suspected to have been infected by cholera, which broke out last July, killing over 2,000 and suspectedly infecting over 80,000 people.

The number of cholera cases sharply spiked earlier this year in Sudan’s capital region of Khartoum where over 34,000 displaced people returned mainly since March after the SAF retook control from the RSF.

Damaged in the fighting, most of the homes to which they returned lacked water or sanitation. In May, the RSF launched a series of drone strikes on water purification units and power plants, further curtailing water supply, and forcing residents to resort to unsafe sources, which caused over a nine-fold rise in cholera cases in the second half of that month.

Read more: Cholera ravages Sudan’s war-torn capital 

Last week, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) raised the alarm that the cholera wave had now reached the western semi-arid region of Darfur for the first time since the war began.

In a press statement on Sunday, June 22, the General Coordination of Darfur Displaced People and Refugees warned that diseases may spread rapidly as monsoon season has begun in Darfur, with rains lashing over the displaced sheltering only under plastic sheets with no sanitation facilities.

Particularly vulnerable to the deadly diseases are the children and the pregnant and breast-feeding women who are already suffering from malnutrition, its spokesperson Adam Rojal told Peoples Dispatch, “The world has completely forgotten the crisis in Sudan” where “a slow death” has become the plight of millions, he decried.

The Darfur region consists of five states, of which North Darfur remains the only state where the SAF has retained a foothold in its capital El Fasher. The RSF, which controls the rest of the region, has laid a siege on the city for over a year now, cutting off its supply of food and other essentials, and frequently bombarding the famine-stricken displaced peoples camp on its outskirts. Activists have warned that El Fasher itself is on the verge of famine.

Now in its third year, the war that has caused a humanitarian catastrophe on such a scale “is far from over”, a UN fact-finding mission warned last week.

After seizing the border triangle region between Sudan, Libya, and Egypt on June 14, the RSF also announced on June 16 that it captured the strategic oasis town of Karb al-Toum in the north-western desert region. This effectively severs the supply route to the SAF in North Darfur while paving the way for the RSF to advance in the Northern State.

The RSF – which the SAF claims to have killed 28,613 and wounded 43,575 since the start of the war – is also making advances in the Kordofan region in the center and southern region of Sudan. Civilians in South Kordofan’s city of El-Dibeibat – a crucial crossroad linking the state with North Kordofan and West Darfur – have been caught up in the crossfire for over two years.

Fleeing this city, thousands sought refuge in North Kordofan’s capital El-Obeid, under SAF’s control. However, the RSF has surrounded El-Obeid, “and may attack it in the coming days, as announced by the RSF commander,” the UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner said on June 20. 

Original article by Pavan Kulkarni republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Continue ReadingNow in its third year, war in Sudan is “is far from over”