US pulls hundreds of troops from Qatar, Bahrain amid Iran tensions
Hundreds of American troops have been withdrawn from Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, according to unnamed Pentagon officials.
According to officials, U.S. personnel have also been evacuated from Bahrain, home to the United States Fifth Fleet, News.Az reports, citing the New York Times.
Despite the drawdown, U.S. forces remain deployed at bases in Iraq, Syria, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.
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The troop movements are widely seen as a precautionary step amid escalating tensions over a potential U.S. strike on Iran. Tehran has signaled it could retaliate by targeting American military assets across the region.
The U.S. military’s United States Central Command, which oversees operations in Iran and much of the Middle East, did not immediately comment on the report.
In a letter addressed Thursday to the UN secretary-general, Iran’s mission to the United Nations warned that if Iran were attacked, “all bases, facilities, and assets of the hostile force in the region would constitute legitimate targets,” adding that the United States would bear “full and direct responsibility” for any resulting consequences.
Al Udeid is the largest U.S. military installation in the Middle East and hosts around 10,000 American troops.
By Nijat Babayev
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