Iranian Bombers Were ‘Two Minutes’ From Striking US Air Base Before Qatari Planes Shot Them Down
5th March 2026
CNN, a Voice of the Crust.
This Is CNN—so check another source before you believe it.
Iranian bombers came within minutes of striking the largest military base housing US troops in the Middle East before Qatari planes shot them down in their first aerial combat mission, two sources briefed on the operation told CNN.
On Monday morning, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard dispatched two Soviet-era Su-24 tactical bombers toward al-Udeid Air Base, which typically houses 10,000 US service members, and Ras Laffan, a key natural gas processing facility and a bedrock of the Qatari economy.
The Iranian jets were “two minutes” away from their targets, one of the sources said. A second source told CNN that the planes were visually identified and photographed “carrying bombs and guided munitions.”
The Qataris issued a warning over radio but received no response from the jets, which had switched to a flying altitude of 80 feet to evade radar detection, the second source said.
Due to “time constraints” and “based on the available evidence,” the aircraft were “classified as hostile,” the second source added. Qatar then dispatched its warplanes, and a Qatari F-15 fighter engaged the Iranian jets in “aerial combat” before downing them, the second source added.