Iran's attacks force US withdrawal from Middle Eastern bases

In early April, Tehran delivered a formal demand—via Pakistan—for the removal of U.S. combat forces from bases across the Middle East, tying the request to a package that included lifting UN sanctions, releasing frozen Iranian assets, reparations and Iran’s right to nuclear enrichment. Over the subsequent two weeks Iran carried out targeted strikes on key U.S. installations in Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The assaults caused a de‑facto evacuation of U.S. personnel and equipment, leaving the U.S. Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain in ruins and forcing the closure of the Combined Air Operations Center at Al Udeid in Qatar, which was relocated to Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina. Iran continued to pound bases in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar to prevent any remaining U.S. aircraft or missile launchers from staying operational. Parallel attacks hit Jordan’s Muwaffaq Salti and Prince Hassan airbases, and satellite imagery showed U.S. aircraft cleared from the open‑air parking at Muwaffaq al‑Salti. The United States also moved its $250 million MQ‑4C Triton maritime surveillance drones to Jordan, with the second Triton transferred from Sigonella to Al Hussein Air Base, reducing the Navy’s ISR presence in Sicily and signaling a clear operational reprioritization.