Iran has launched six missiles at the U.S. bases in Qatar, three of which hit their target, eyewitnesses based in Doha told TRT World.

Iranian officials said Iran has launched an “aggressive response to the US attacks at the weekend.” The Al Udeid Air Base is the US CENTCOM HQ and the largest in the region. Other reports claimed that all the inbound missiles were intercepted by air defence systems.

Oil prices quickly jumped as the news broke, but within an hour gave up most of their gains as oil priced for a limited, albeit specular, attack.

UAE has closed its air space and Bahrain has gone on red alert as a result of the attack. Sirens were reported to have sounded in Bahrain and Kuwait about 30 minutes after Doha was hit.

There are no reports of casualties at this time, confirmed by the Qatar’s Defence Ministry. Tehran warned Qatar of the imminent attack beforehand via diplomatic channels. The Qatar ministry said that the US base was evacuated before the strike, which is well away from the urban centres. The authorities confirmed an hour after the attack that no one was hurt and there were no fatalities.

There are more than 40,000 US troops stationed in bases across the Gulf with a quarter of them stationed at Al Udeid alone. The US also has the Camp Arifjan, Ali Al Salem Air Base and Camp Buehring in Kuwait and Naval Support Activity in Bahrain that is home to the Fifth Fleet HQ in the Gulf.

In Saudi Arabia, the US has Prince Sultan Air Base and smaller intel outposts. In Iraq there are four bases: Al Asad Airbase, Erbil Air Base, Baghdad Support Center and several joint Iraqi-U.S. sites. In Syria: Al-Tanf Garrison as well as undisclosed northeast sites. In Jordan: Muwaffaq Salti Air Base and other joint-use locations. In Oman: the Thumrait and Masirah bases.

All US forces in the Middle East were immediately put on high alert following the strike, waiting for the White House response.

The White House said it was aware of the attacks and was monitoring the situation closely. Previously, US President Donald Trump warned Tehran not to target US assets in the Gulf.

Analysts speculated that the attack was a very limited gesture by Tehran to save face following the humiliation of the US bombing of three nuclear facilities at the weekend.

Analysts pointed out that six missiles is a small number to use, especially against a well defended US base and there was no follow up with a second barrage of missiles.

Nevertheless, video posted on social media showed shoppers panicking as the missiles arrived, unsure what was going on. After an hour calm returned as it became clear that the missile salvo was going to be limited and a one off.