Following the American bombing of several of Iran’s nuclear facilities over the weekend, there was concern that Iran would retaliate against U.S. forces — including around two dozen Utah National Guard members – currently deployed to the region.
But President Donald Trump said Monday, after Iran launched missiles at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, that Iran has “gotten it all out of their ‘system’” and that “hopefully” there will be “no further HATE.” Officials said no U.S. service members were harmed in the attack.
Roughly 20 Utah National Guard soldiers are deployed under the U.S. Central Command, an area that includes the Middle East region, Lt. Col Christopher Kroeber told The Salt Lake Tribune on Monday.
In late February, the Guard announced that linguists from Utah’s 142nd Military Intelligence Battalion were deploying to Operation Inherent Resolve, a counter-terrorism mission, in the Middle East.
“In order to defend freedom, family and country, these soldiers are giving up freedom, family and country,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrea Marks, the mission commander for the deploying Utah Guard members said in a statement then. “They are leaving spouses, children, school and careers. I’m grateful to serve with them and am very motivated to take care of them in order to honor what they are sacrificing to deploy.”
Once Guard members are deployed, Kroeber said, the Utah National Guard gives up control of those forces to other military commanders “who can move and use the units and soldiers how they need to.”
Around 40,000 U.S. military members are deployed in the region, Department of Defense officials said earlier this month.
President Donald Trump announced late Saturday night that the U.S. conducted “massive precision strikes” in Iran in an effort to destroy Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and “a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s number one state sponsor of terror.”
The strikes, Trump said at the time, were a “spectacular military success” and key nuclear facilities in Iran were “completely and totally obliterated.” He called on Iran to reach a peace agreement or U.S. attacks would continue.
On Monday, Iran retaliated by launching short- and medium-range missiles at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, The Associated Press reported.
“There have been 14 missiles fired — 13 were knocked down, and 1 was ‘set free,’ because it was headed in a nonthreatening direction," Trump wrote on social media after Iran’s attack. ”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,” Trump added. “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.”
A Utah National Guard spokesperson did not immediately respond when asked if any of the service members deployed to the Middle East were at Al Udeid.
After the first Trump administration killed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani, Iran responded by attacking Al Asad Air Base in Iraq, resulting in the wounding of more than 100 U.S. military personnel. Iranian-backed militias also target U.S. forces in the region
Before news of Iran’s retaliatory attack Monday, Kroeber said the Utah National Guard constantly monitors the global “threat environment,” and, at this time, there is “no indication that the actions in and around Iran will develop into any missions or assignments for our Soldiers here.”
“[F]or those 20 Soldiers deployed to CENTCOM, we don’t know exactly how this impacts them,” Kreober said, “but trust in their current command to take appropriate actions based on their local threat assessments.”
