ISLAMABAD: The most vulnerable American bases in the Middle East includes Al-Asad airbase in Iraq, Tanf in Syria, NSA Bahrain and Al-Udeid airbase in Qatar.
Recently, it was reported that the Iranian officials warned Qatar about possible attacks on the US bases in response to American strikes, putting US embassies and diplomatic facilities in the area at risk, stated an article in The Washington Post.
It’s to be noted that the maximum range of Iranian ballistic missiles is 2,000 kilometers, and almost all US military bases in the Middle East are under the radius of 2,000 kilometers of Iran.
Al-Asad airbase has faced many attacks from Iran and its allied groups in recent years. It is located 150 miles west of Baghdad and is jointly run by Iraqi and US air forces. The facility houses thousands of American service members.
After the US killed Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in January 2020, Iran retaliated by launching 16 missiles at locations with US forces in Iraq, hitting al-Asad with 11 missiles, injuring numerous soldiers and causing significant damage. Iran also targeted a military facility in Irbil.
According to the reports, attacks on al-Asad by Iranian-backed militias continued, including missile and drone strikes as recently as August.
In Syria, the Trump administration announced a reduction of US military presence, cutting bases from eight to just one at Tanf, which is near the borders of Iraq and Jordan. The timeline for this change is not clear. A drone attack in January 2024 on Tower 22, a US outpost in Jordan, resulted in the deaths of three American soldiers and many injuries, marking the most severe attack on US forces since the fall of Kabul in 2021.
In the Persian Gulf, notable US military bases include Naval Support Activity, Bahrain, home to the US 5th Fleet, and al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, which has over 10,000 troops. Other bases in the region include Camp Buehring and Ali al-Salem Air Base in Kuwait and al-Dhafra Air Base in the UAE.
The western media reported already that the US has also evacuated some staff from missions in Iraq and Israel.
