Exclusive: Minutes from disaster — how Qatar shot down two Iranian bombers in its first aerial combat operation

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.

The Iranian planes crashed into Qatar’s territorial waters. Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari told a briefing Tuesday that a search is underway for the crews.

Iran has fired hundreds of missiles and unmanned drones toward Arab states along the Persian Gulf in retaliation for US and Israeli airstrikes on the country. Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in the first wave of attacks Saturday when strikes devastated his compound in Tehran.

But Iran’s daring operation over Qatar marked the first time it had used manned aircraft to target a neighboring country since Khamenei’s death — and the first time the Qatari air force has engaged in air-to-air combat.

US Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, acknowledged the incident in a briefing on Wednesday without specifying the Iranian bombers’ target.

“Qatari fighters for the first time have shot down two Iranian bombers on route to their location,” he told a briefing at the Pentagon.

In a call with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani described the incident as “escalatory” and one that indicates “no genuine desire” by Iran to deescalate or find a resolution.

“Rather, it seeks to inflict harm on its neighbors and drag them into a war that is not theirs,” Al Thani said, according to a readout of the call.

The incident over Qatar was unusual. Typically, Iran’s retaliation has been in the form of missiles or drones.

The Iranian regime has fired more than 400 ballistic missiles and more than 1,000 drones at Arab states along the gulf since the US-Israeli attack, according to regional governments.

By targeting urban centers, energy infrastructure, airports and hotels across the gulf’s Arab states, Iran has shaken populations long used to security.

While most of Iran’s missiles and drones have been intercepted, six US service members were killed when an Iranian projectile evaded air defenses and struck a makeshift operations center at Kuwait’s Shuaiba port on Sunday.