Image Credit: MANDEL NGAN / Contributor / Getty 
On Monday Tehran retaliated against Washington’s strike on its nuclear infrastructure by launching ballistic missiles at the Al Udeid Air Base near Doha, Qatar – a base that the U.S. utilizes. President Donald Trump then took to his social media to facetiously thank Iran for their “very weak response” while also signaling the end of the conflict by saying “congratulations world, it’s time for peace.”
Iran has officially responded to our Obliteration of their Nuclear Facilities with a very weak response, which we expected, and have very effectively countered. There have been 14 missiles fired — 13 were knocked down, and 1 was “set free,” because it was headed in a nonthreatening direction. I am pleased to report that NO Americans were harmed, and hardly any damage was done. Most importantly, they’ve gotten it all out of their “system,” and there will, hopefully, be no further HATE. I want to thank Iran for giving us early notice, which made it possible for no lives to be lost, and nobody to be injured. Perhaps Iran can now proceed to Peace and Harmony in the Region, and I will enthusiastically encourage Israel to do the same. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
The President’s message appears to indicate that the U.S. will not respond to Iran’s retaliatory strike and that bookends have been placed on the conflict. As ZeroHedge reported, Trump is essentially saying ‘Mission Accomplished’.
“The mainstream media and U.S. officials are collectively reporting it’s all over folks – and there’s currently a surprisingly open level of acknowledgement that this ‘retaliation’ on U.S. bases was telegraphed and even coordinated between Iran and Qatar (and that yes, the U.S. knew about it). Tehran is saying the same number of missiles were used in the short-lived assault as were used by U.S. bombers against its nuclear facilities,” ZeroHedge said following Iran’s retaliatory strike.
Trump’s message also appears to indicate a possibility of resuming diplomatic negotiations with Tehran, something his administration has been engaged in previously.
Footage from Qatar shows an anti-missile system intercept the Iranian missiles over Doha.
🚨 HAPPENING NOW: Air defenses seen activated over Doha, Qatar, after Iran fired a barrage of missiles at it, likely targeting the al-Udeid base used by U.S. forces pic.twitter.com/exG9nVGR1d
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) June 23, 2025
WILD FOOTAGE 🔴🔴
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) June 23, 2025
Video shows air defenses intercepting incoming Iranian missiles over Qatar.
Iran is officially striking the United States of America pic.twitter.com/lc3fcLSoA3
One regional journalist, Bloomberg TV anchor of Horizons Mideast & Africa, Joumanna Nasr Bercetche said that this appears to be a “face saving” move for Iran, not a tactical military operation.
The New York Times reported that officials from Tehran gave advanced notice that their strike was incoming so as to minimize casualties.
“But there were signs that Iran might have been looking for an off-ramp to the conflict, even as it targeted the base despite warnings from the Trump administration not to retaliate for the American bombing over the weekend,” The New York Times said Monday. “Three Iranian officials said their government had given advance notice that missile strike was coming, as a way to minimize potential casualties — and the Defense Department said were no reports of U.S. casualties at the base, Al Udeid. Qatar and the United States said that air defenses had been able to intercept the missiles.”
A similar tactic was used by Tehran in 2020 when the Islamic nation gave forewarning prior to launching ballistic missiles at a U.S. base in Iraq in retaliation for Washington’s assassination of Iranian general Gen. Qassim Suleimani.
The President also thanked the Emir of Qatar for seeking peace in the region.
Confirming he is ending the military actions against Iran and moving back to engaging Tehran in diplomatic relations, Trump announced that it is time for peace.
Geopolitical analyst Mike Adams (the Health Ranger) said he believes that this move will have the effect of isolating Israel and called Trump’s tactic genius.
All part of the de-escalation playbook. Leaves no question that Trump and Iran are back-channeling a de-escalation effort here. The upshot is that this will isolate Israel, which is frankly on its knees at this point, and is unlikely to survive this conflict if Iran keeps launching missiles for the next few weeks. Trump may have indeed found a way to get the USA out of the way, while being able to claim he did what the Zionists wanted by “obliterating” Iran’s nuclear infrastructure (which of course was also total theater). If Trump sticks with this and avoids being pulled back in, this could be the genius geopolitical move of the year. We’ll have to wait and see… I am all in favor of the USA exiting this war. Let Israel fight its own damn wars.
Exactly on schedule. All part of the de-escalation playbook. Leaves no question that Trump and Iran are back-channeling a de-escalation effort here. The upshot is that this will isolate Israel, which is frankly on its knees at this point, and is unlikely to survive this conflict… https://t.co/z1Yf0EYoBy
— HealthRanger (@HealthRanger) June 23, 2025
