CHARLESTON W.Va. — West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said that all West Virginia National Guard personnel in Qatar are accounted for and safe following retaliatory bombing by Iran of an air base after the U.S. bombed suspected nuclear facilities in Iran.

In a statement Monday afternoon, Morrisey said he and West Virginia National Guard Adj. Gen. James Seward have been in contact with counterparts in Qatar following strikes by Iran on Al Udeid Air Base near Doha.

“In the wake of the recent attack by Iran, my office is in close contact with West Virginia’s military forces in the Middle East,” Morrisey said. “All of our West Virginia National Guard airmen and soldiers who are currently stationed in or deployed to Qatar, are accounted for and safe.”

According to reports, Iran launched a series of short-range and long-range missiles at the air base Monday. Multiple nearby nations, such as Kuwait and Bahrain, closed their airspace as tensions remain high between Iran, the U.S. and Israel.

On Sunday, B-2 long-range bombers dropped 14 massive ordnance penetrator (MOP) bombs on three hardened sites in Iran believed to be the locations of uranium enrichment facilities for the goal of developing a nuclear weapon. The U.S. strike follows two weeks of attacks by Israel within Iran, targeting nuclear facilities, scientists, military leaders, and other military targets.

When asked how many West Virginia National Guard personnel are in Qatar, a spokesperson for the Governor’s Office reached out to the National Guard and was told that information was classified.

According to the West Virginia National Guard, the Ministry of Defense for the State of Qatar and West Virginia have had a partnership since 2018 after Qatar formally requested a partnership in 2016. In 2021, retired National Guard Brig. Gen. William Crane and Staff Brigadier Khalid Al-Khayareen, director of the International Forces Affairs Directory for Qatar’s International Military Cooperation Authority, signed an expression of cooperation.

“Qatar is a key ally to the United States and is no stranger to supporting global peace and stability,” Crane said. “Our strategic alliance helps further advance U.S. and Middle East national security and peace objectives in the region, and there is much that we can learn from our allies in Qatar. I look forward to building upon our shared values as a people and creating a lasting relationship between West Virginia and Qatar.”

The West Virginia National Guard has welcomed military personnel from Qatar to the state for training opportunities, with National Guard personnel frequently traveling to Qatar. In January, members of the National Guard’s Cyber Protection Team traveled to Qatar for a two-week multinational exercise on blocking cyber threats.