The Iranian bomber arrived within minutes of attacking the largest US military base in the Middle East and was shot down by a Qatari plane in its first air combat mission, two people briefed on the operation told CNN.
On Monday morning, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards dispatched two Soviet-era Su-24 tactical bombers toward Al-Udeid Air Base, where 10,000 U.S. military personnel are normally stationed, and Ras Laffan, an important natural gas processing facility and the bedrock of Qatar’s economy.
One of the officials said the Iranian jet was “two minutes” away from its target. Another source told CNN that a plane “laden with bombs and guided weapons” was seen and photographed.
Qatar Airways issued a radio warning but there was no response from the jet, which had switched to flying at an altitude of 80 feet to avoid radar detection, a second source said.
“Based on time constraints” and “available evidence,” the aircraft was “classified as hostile,” the second source added. Qatar then sent fighter jets, and a Qatari F-15 fighter jet engaged in an “air combat” with the Iranian fighter jet, shooting it down, the second source added.
An Iranian military plane crashes in Qatar’s territorial waters. Qatari Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Majid Al-Ansari told a briefing on Tuesday that a search for the crew was underway.
Iran has fired hundreds of missiles and unmanned drones at Arab countries along the Persian Gulf in retaliation for US and Israeli airstrikes on the country. Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed on Saturday in the first wave of attacks that destroyed his residence in Tehran.
But Iran’s bold operation over Qatar marked the first time since Khamenei’s death that it had used manned aircraft to target a neighboring country, and the first time the Qatari Air Force had conducted air-to-air combat.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Kaine acknowledged the incident at a news conference Wednesday, without specifying the target of the Iranian bomber.
“For the first time, Qatari fighter jets shot down two Iranian bombers en route to their base,” he said at a Pentagon briefing.
In a telephone conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said the incident had “escalated” and showed Iran had “no real desire” to de-escalate or find a solution.
“Rather, we would like to harm our neighbors and drag them into a war that is not theirs,” al-Thani said, according to the appeal read out.
The incident surrounding Qatar was unusual. Iranian retaliation has typically taken the form of missiles and drones.
The Iranian regime has fired more than 400 ballistic missiles and more than 1,000 drones into Arab countries along the Gulf since the U.S. and Israeli attacks, according to local governments.
By targeting urban centers, energy infrastructure, airports and hotels across the Gulf Arab states, Iran has shaken citizens long accustomed to security.
Most Iranian missiles and drones are intercepted, but on Sunday an Iranian projectile slipped through air defenses and hit a makeshift operations center in Kuwait’s Shuaiba port, killing six U.S. service members.
