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By Brendan Cole and John Feng
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Newsweek has mapped U.S. military bases under threat of strikes by Iran, which said it would respond to President Donald Trump’s warning of American intervention in protests roiling the Islamic Republic.
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Reuters reported Wednesday that the U.S. had advised some of its personnel to leave Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. While there was no immediate confirmation of a widespread evacuation, it signaled concerns about the risk posed to American assets in the Middle East.
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Newsweek has contacted the Pentagon for comment.
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Why It Matters
Trump has threatened to hit Iran's regime "very hard where it hurts" if officials execute demonstrators, reiterating previous warnings of a military response to Tehran’s crackdown on protests that started December 28.
Tehran responded by warning its neighbors hosting U.S. troops that American facilities could be hit if Washington strikes, Reuters reported, citing an unnamed senior Iranian official.
That could put at risk American forces across the region, including those at the forward headquarters of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) at Al Udeid and at the garrison of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet in Bahrain, as Newsweek’s graphic shows below.
What To Know
The U.S. has a heavy military footprint across the Middle East of permanent bases and outposts as well as access to rotational sites, often joint installations with the host nation.
CENTCOM, which oversees U.S. forces in the Middle East, Egypt—because of the Suez Canal—and across to parts of Asia, has opened a new "coordination cell" at Al Udeid, about 30 miles from the Qatari capital, Doha, hosting roughly 10,000 personnel.
About 2,500 American troops are based in Iraq, split between Al Asad Air Base in Anbar province and Erbil Air Base in Iraqi Kurdistan. In the United Arab Emirates, there is the Al Dhafra Air Base near Abu Dhabi, which hosts the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing.
In Saudi Arabia, the Prince Sultan Air Base hosts U.S. assets including Patriot missile batteries and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense systems. Kuwait is a logistics hub for the U.S., hosting Camp Arifjan as well as the strategically important Ali Al Salem Air Base.
Meanwhile, Bahrain is the strategically important location of the lower Gulf and hosts U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and the 5th Fleet.
Newsweek’s map also shows Jordan's Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, 70 miles northeast of Amman, which hosts the U.S. Air Forces Central's 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing.
Further north, there is Turkey, where Ankara and the U.S. jointly run the Incirlik Air Base in southern Adana province, which has been a launching pad for the international coalition fighting the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, better known as ISIS. Other sites including the Kürecik Radar Station and Izmir Air Station.
What People Are Saying
Iranian Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzade, of possible U.S intervention: "We will defend the country with full force and until the last drop of blood, and our defense would be painful to them.”
He warned that countries providing support for any U.S. strike on Iran “will be legitimate targets.”
What Happens Next
At a time of heightened tensions, there will be anticipation over a possible widespread evacuation of Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, what Trump might do next and how Iran might respond.
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