13 June Israel attacked atomic and military targets in IranHe said he was about to build a atomic weapon. Tehran responded by attacking missiles and drones to targets in Israel. The president of the United States issued a Sunday night order destruction of Iran's uranium enrichment plants in Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. 14 bunkers and 30 maneuvering missiles were utilized for the attacks. A day later, Iran attacked US military base Al Udeid in Qatar. The Qatari authorities announced that all missiles were intercepted and that no 1 was injured as a consequence of the attack.
Qatar is not the only country in the mediate East where Americans are stationed. That's quite a few bases.
Americans in the mediate East
Total United States has military facilities in at least nineteen locations. Eight of them — in countries specified as Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the United arabian Emirates — are considered permanent. The US military besides uses large bases in Djibouti and Turkey.
The first deployment of American soldiers in the mediate East occurred in July 1958, erstwhile the military were sent to Beirut during the Lebanese crisis. At its highest in Lebanon there were almost 15,000 Marines and Army soldiers. There were as many as 160,000 American soldiers in Iraq during the 2007 operation and 100,000 in Afghanistan in 2011. Since mid-2025, about 40,000 American soldiers have been present in the mediate East, including personnel stationed in both large, permanent bases and smaller bases.
- Saudi Arabia
In 2024, there were about 2,000 US soldiers in this country. In cooperation with Saudi authorities, they supply air and rocket defence capabilities and support operations of US military aircraft.
Naval Support Activity is the seat of the Central Command of the United States Marine Force and the 5th Naval Fleet, whose area of work includes the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, the arabian Sea and part of the Indian Ocean. A port located in Manam can operate the largest American ships, including aircraft carriers. There are 4 mines, 2 logistics support ships and respective US Coast defender vessels. There are 9,000 soldiers stationed at the base.
The United States does not have any major combat bases in Egypt, but there are many smaller military facilities in the country.
Naval Medical investigation Unit 3 is based in Cairo, conducting investigation and prevention of infectious diseases, as well as leading the largest abroad defence department laboratory.
The United States has a number of military bases in Iraq, including 2 airports — Al-Harir and Al-Assad — and dozens of camps and stations. These bases were repeatedly targeted at attacks by pro-Iran militant groups following Israel's invasion of the Gaza Strip in October 2023. During the highest period of the American business of the country from 2003 to 2011, 170 000 American soldiers were reportedly stationed in bases across the country.
The Ain al-Assad Air Base located in the desert is the most crucial U.S. base in Iraq. It is where the training of the Iraqi armed forces takes place and serves to combat the muslim State. About a 1000 U.S. military are there. In 2020, the site was shot down by Iran as part of a retaliation for killing U.S. influential Iranian general Kasem Sulejmani. Over a 100 U.S. soldiers were injured.
Located in the semi-autonomy region of Kurdistan in northern Iraq, Erbil Air Base is utilized by US forces for air operations, especially in northern Iraq and Syria, where troops advise Kurdish and Iraqi forces.
Muwaffaq Salti Air Base is located about 100 km northeast of the capital Amman. Missions are carried out from the base throughout the Levant (the area over the east Mediterranean).
Al Udeid Air Base (located about 30 km from Doha) is the largest American military base in the mediate East. It was created in 1996. It covers an area of 24 hectares and houses nearly 100 aircraft as well as drones. This base, with about 10,000 troops stationed, serves as the U.S. Central Command office (CENTCOM) and plays a key function in operations in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan.
Camp Arifjan is simply a major U.S. Army base located about 55 km southeast of Kuwait City. Built in 1999, it serves as the main logistics, supply and command hub for American military operations in the mediate East.
- United arabian Emirates
Al-Dhafra Air Base focuses on identifying, collecting intelligence and supporting combat air operations. The base supports advanced aircraft, specified as F-22 Raptor fighters and various reflection aircraft, including drones and AWACS.
Port Jebel Ali in Dubai, although not a formal military base, is the largest U.S. Navy port in the mediate East, which regularly hosts US ships and aircraft carriers.
