SINGAPORE: A dizzying morning of events in the Middle East on Tuesday (Jun 24) has raised hopes that all sides involved can now claim some measure of victory and begin climbing off the escalatory ladder.

Iran went first, retaliating against American strikes on three of its nuclear facilities over the weekend with a volley of seven missiles towards the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, which houses United States troops. The first missiles were intercepted and destroyed over the sea as they entered Qatari airspace.

Shortly after, a reported 12 Iranian missiles were fired in a second wave of attacks at the air base, according to Qatari officials. This time, 11 missiles were intercepted, while one hit the target.

Iran duly claimed victory, with a spokesman for its armed forces stating that its attack was a warning to “our enemies that the era of hit and run is over”.

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said later in an X post that “those who know the Iranian people and their history know that the Iranian nation isn’t a nation that surrenders”.

It was clear, however, that the Iranians telegraphed their intentions to avoid inflaming the situation: Warnings of their impending strikes came ahead of time, when Doha announced the temporary closure of its airspace, following messages from Britain’s Foreign Office and the US Embassy in Qatar for their nationals to take shelter.

These recommendations, made “out of an abundance of caution”, were echoed by a reassurance from Qatar’s Foreign Ministry that the “security situation … remains stable”.