Americans in Qatar told to shelter in place as Iranian military threatens action against US interests

The U.S. Embassy in Qatar told Americans to shelter in place until further notice Monday morning following the weekend’s attacks on Iran.

The embassy said it made the recommendation “out of an abundance of caution” but provided no other details. Qatar is home to Al Udeid Air Base, where approximately 10,000 U.S. soldiers are deployed. 

The advisory came after the State Department issued a warning to American citizens on Sunday.

“There is the potential for demonstrations against U.S. citizens and interests abroad. The Department of State advises U.S. citizens worldwide to exercise increased caution.”

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Iran vowed to retaliate against the U.S. after American B-2 bombers dropped 14 bunker buster bombs on three Iranian nuclear sites. 

“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,” Abdolrahim Mousavi, the new chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces, warned in a statement. 

Qatar’s foreign affairs spokesperson said the “advisory from a number of embassies to their citizens do not reflect the existence of specific threats.”

“The security situation in the country is stable,” the statement said, adding, “the relevant authorities are closely monitoring the situation and are ready to take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of citizens, residents, and visitors.” 

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Qatar has struck a delicate balance between friendly relations with its neighbor Iran and the West. 

Some 40,000 U.S. troops are stationed across the Middle East.

While Iran is largely expected to launch a counterattack to the weekend’s bombings, Israeli strikes have taken out Iran’s missile launchers and depleted its stock of medium-range missiles.

The U.S. homeland, meanwhile, is under a “heightened threat environment” following the weekend’s strikes, including “low-level cyber attacks against US networks by pro-Iranian hacktivists are likely, and cyber actors affiliated with the Iranian government may conduct attacks against US networks.”