One of the bases the US is pulling troops from is the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, which Iran previously attacked in retaliation for the US bombing its nuclear facilities.
by Dave DeCamp
January 14, 2026
The US is pulling some troops from several of its bases in the Middle East, as European officials told Reuters on Wednesday evening that a US attack on Iran could come within the next 24 hours. The US pulled forces from bases in the region before the start of the 12-day US-Israeli war against Iran in June 2025.
One of the bases the US is pulling troops from is the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, which Iran attacked in June in retaliation for the US bombing its nuclear facilities. Iran gave the US advanced warning ahead of the attack, giving the US military time to evacuate its forces and prepare to intercept the missiles.
Iranian officials have been warning they will strike US bases and ships in the region in response to any attack, and it’s likely this time they won’t give advanced notice.
“The President of #America, who repeatedly mentions the futile story of aggression against #Iran’s nuclear facilities, would do better to also mention the plowing of the American #AlUdeid base by Iranian missiles,” Ali Shamkhani, an aide to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, wrote on X on Wednesday.
“It will certainly help in creating a real understanding of Iran’s will and capability to respond to any aggression,” added Shamkhani, who Israel tried to kill during the 12-Day War.
On Tuesday, President Trump brushed off Iran’s warnings, saying, “Iran said that the last time I blew them up.” He also held a meeting with his senior advisors at the White House on Tuesday evening to discuss the situation in Iran.
US officials told The New York Times that US intelligence has assessed that if Trump orders strikes on Iran, Tehran would likely retaliate with missile strikes on Al Udeid and possibly US bases in Iraq and Syria, an assessment that was discussed at the White House on Tuesday.
The Washington Post cited a US official who said the Trump administration “just doesn’t have the assets in the region to do a full kinetic strike without risking retaliation” since it pulled assets out of the Middle East for the attack on Venezuela. But the US does have at least three US Navy guided-missile destroyers in the region, and the B-2 bombers that it used to attack Iran back in June were flown from bases in the US.
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